Trump May Raise Tariffs to 20% on Countries Without US Trade Deals

In a major announcement, US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he may soon apply a flat tariff of 15 to 20 percent on imports from countries that do not have individual trade deals with the United States. Speaking in Scotland alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump said, “For the world, I would say it will be somewhere in the 15 percent to 20 percent range. I just want to be nice.”

This new range is higher than the 10 percent tariff Trump had proposed earlier in April. The change could especially affect smaller countries that were expecting a lower rate. Earlier this month, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa would face a baseline tariff of 10 percent.

Trump explained that it would be too difficult to negotiate separate trade deals with every country. “We’re going to be setting a tariff for essentially the rest of the world,” he said. “That’s what they’re going to pay if they want to do business in the US.” Many countries, including India, are still in talks with the US before Trump’s August 1 deadline. India’s trade delegation, led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, is currently in Washington trying to reach an agreement. India is one of the key US trade partners still negotiating.

Last week, Trump had already announced new tariffs: 15 percent on Japan, 16 percent on Indonesia, and 15 percent on the European Union. Some countries, like Brazil and Laos, have even gone further, imposing tariffs as high as 40 to 50 percent on certain US imports.

The proposed hike in tariffs signals a strong push by Trump to reshape global trade, potentially impacting developing economies and global supply chains.