Trump Warns Trade Partners That Deadline For New Proposals Looms: ‘Friendly Reminder’

The United States has notified trading partners of a Wednesday deadline to submit proposals for new deals to avoid heightened tariffs, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has confirmed.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative “sent this letter to all of our trading partners just to give them a friendly reminder that the deadline is coming up,” Leavitt said at a White House press briefing on Tuesday.

Leavitt added that President Donald Trump’s trade team – led by Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick – is “in talks with many of our key trading partners around the globe.”

“This letter was simply to remind these countries that the deadline is approaching, and the president expects good deals. And we are on track for that, I will emphasize,” the press secretary added.

Leavitt’s comments confirm an earlier Reuters report that the U.S. Trade Representative sent letters to trading partners warning of the upcoming deadline.

On April 2, Trump announced “Liberation Day” and rolled out substantial tariff hikes on dozens of countries while complaining about the United States’ trade deficit and unfair trade practices used against the United States. The president paused the tariffs for 90 days on April 9 until July 8 to give affected nations a chance to negotiate for new trade agreements.

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Leavitt said that trade agreements will be negotiated and finalized on a case-by-case basis based on the unique circumstances of each trading partner. Each deal could contain various exemptions and reprieves, such as lowering the tariff on the first 100,000 cars imported from the United Kingdom to 10% from 25%.

“Each country has unique advantages, unique challenges based on their markets and what they export to us and what we export to them,” said Leavitt. “That’s why the president smartly advised his trade team to engage in tailor-made dealmaking. We saw that with the United Kingdom and we will see that with other countries, as well.”

Last month, the United States and United Kingdom announced the outline of a trade deal and hailed it as the first trade deal since Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement.

Trump’s tariff regime is under review in the courts. The New York-based Court of International Trade ruled last month that Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs were outside the bounds of the president’s authority. An appeals court temporarily reinstated Trump’s tariffs the next day while a series of legal challenges continued to wind through the court system.

Trump’s tariff announcements have caused chaos in markets, with stock prices swinging wildly on news of tariffs, tariff pauses, trade deals, and other related issues.