Over the weekend and yesterday, President Trump sent letters to 14 countries proposing new blanket rate tariffs to go into effect on 1 August unless a trade deal is reached. These tariffs would affect all imports beyond key sectoral tariffs already proposed. In the letters, Trump warned countries that they would face even higher tariffs if they retaliated by increasing their own duties. Trump signed an Executive Order determining that certain tariff rates, which were initially set to expire on 9 July – i.e. tomorrow – will now expire on 1 August. Trump took these actions based on information and recommendations from senior officials, including information on the status of trade negotiations. Since he modified the tariff rates ro...