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US President Donald Trump holds up a chart displaying reciprocal tariff rates for each country during an announcement in the White House Rose Garden on April 2. / Source: AP, Yonhap News

President Donald Trump said on June 29 he will not extend the July 8 deadline for the suspension of reciprocal tariffs and that he will soon send letters to countries that have not reached trade agreements with the United States, notifying them of new tariff rates.

In an interview aired on Fox News, Trump said, “I don’t think there’s any need to extend it,” adding, “What I want to do, and will do, is send letters to all those countries before July 9.”

As for the contents of the letter, he remarked, “It will be a very fair letter that says, ‘Congratulations. You’re allowed to trade with the U.S., but you must pay tariffs of 25%, or 20%, 40%, or 50%.’ I’d rather do it that way.”

He stressed that the letters will be sent out “pretty soon,” saying, “We don’t need to meet. We already have all the numbers.”

Trump declared that the letters would mark the “end of trade negotiations,” specifically noting that one could be sent to Japan instructing it to pay a 25% tariff on cars.

When asked about concerns that Japan and South Korea could strike deals that allow them to apply lower auto tariffs than U.S. carmakers, Trump responded, “American automakers are too busy selling cars in the U.S. to worry about that,” adding, “But that’s not going to happen.”

Under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, the Trump administration is applying item-specific tariffs of 25% on automobiles and parts.

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Yeo Han-koo (right), South Korea’s top trade negotiator, speaks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and USTR Representative Jamison Greer at the Commerce Department in Washington, D.C., on June 23. / Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Trump also drew a comparison between the tariff situation and the forced sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations, owned by Chinese tech firm ByteDance.

“This is like TikTok,” he said. “I extended the (sale) deadline to September 18, but it’s no big deal.” He noted that a very wealthy investor is interested in buying TikTok, and added, “It probably needs China’s approval, and I think President Xi Jinping will probably do it.” He said an announcement about the buyer would come “in about two weeks.”

At a White House press conference on June 27, Trump said, “We have to negotiate with 200 countries, but we can’t possibly negotiate with all of them.” He added, “Within the next 10 days or maybe even sooner, I will send letters explaining what they will have to pay to do business in the United States.”

He continued, “We can do whatever we want. We can extend the deadline. We can reduce it. But I want to shorten it. I want to send everyone a letter saying, ‘Congratulations, you now have to pay 25%.’”

Trump’s firm stance against extending the trade deadline contrasts with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said in a Fox Business interview on June 27 that a September deal is still possible.

“If we can reach agreements with 10 or 12 of our 18 major trading partners by July 8, and there are another 20 key relationships still in progress, then I believe we can wrap up trade talks by Labor Day (September 1),” Bessent said.