With just days left before his self-imposed deadline, former President Donald Trump says he’s ready to slap tariffs as high as 70% on countries that haven’t reached new trade agreements with the United States.

Speaking at Joint Base Andrews early Friday, Trump announced the White House will begin sending formal notices to around a dozen countries per day starting immediately. These letters will outline new tariff rates that, in most cases, are set to take effect on August 1.

“They’ll range from maybe 60% or 70% tariffs to 10% and 20% tariffs,” Trump told reporters. “We’ve finalized the letters. They’ll explain exactly what each country will be paying.”

A Three-Month Moratorium Nears Its End

Back in April, Trump gave U.S. trading partners a three-month window to negotiate so-called “reciprocal” trade deals—or face steep penalties. At the time, he imposed tariffs as high as 50% on many nations. Now, with the July 9 deadline just days away, Trump appears set on following through.

The news sparked global concern, even as U.S. markets remained closed for the Independence Day holiday. International markets and futures dipped on the announcement, reflecting investor anxiety over escalating trade tensions.

Who’s on the Tariff List?

The exact list of countries receiving new tariff notices hasn’t been confirmed. However, Trump has repeatedly singled out Japan and the European Union as examples of nations he believes are taking advantage of U.S. trade policy.

Earlier this week, he threatened to send a letter to what he called “spoiled” Japan, possibly setting its tariff rate as high as 35%. Whether that move was a serious threat or just part of his negotiating playbook remains unclear.

According to Trump, most countries will receive their notices by July 9. But some flexibility may still be on the table for nations actively negotiating in good faith.

Mixed Signals from the Administration

Despite Trump’s tough stance, members of his administration have offered a more measured tone. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently noted that “the deadline is not critical” for countries like India, which are still negotiating.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed that view in a Fox Business interview, suggesting that talks could extend to Labor Day if progress is being made. However, Trump contradicted that softer messaging Friday, saying, “Not really,” when asked about deadline extensions.

“They’ll start to pay on August 1,” Trump said. “The money will start to come into the United States on August 1, in pretty much all cases.”

Still, Bessent told Bloomberg TV that a “flurry” of deals may be signed before July 9. For countries that don’t reach an agreement, Trump suggested they could still face a minimum 10% tariff under baseline rules announced on April 2—dubbed “Liberation Day” by the former president.

Only a Few Deals Finalized So Far

Despite Trump’s bold claims that “200 deals” were nearly done, only a few trade frameworks have been formally announced. So far, the administration has only confirmed agreements with the United Kingdom and China, with Vietnam being mentioned by Trump in a social media post—though no formal terms have been released.

“As we get to the smaller countries, we’re pretty much going to keep the tariffs the same,” Trump added.

Trump admitted that finalizing hundreds of trade deals in such a short timeframe wasn’t realistic.

“You know, we have 200 countries,” he said. “We can’t do that. So at a certain point… we’re just going to tell them what they have to pay to do business in the United States.”

A Strategy Two Months in the Making

The idea of imposing new tariffs on countries that fail to make a deal has been circulating since late April. But the deadline has shifted multiple times.

• April 23: Trump said tariffs would be imposed on countries failing to negotiate in “the next few weeks.”

• May 16: He extended that to “two to three weeks.”

• Now: The letters are said to be going out “sometime tomorrow.”

“It’s just much easier,” Trump concluded. “We have far more than 170 countries, and how many deals could you make?”

As the clock ticks down, the world is watching closely. Whether Trump’s aggressive tariff strategy will drive countries to the negotiating table—or trigger another round of global economic tension—remains to be seen.

Source: CNN – Trump says he is about to raise tariffs as high as 70% on some countries

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In a move that captures the essence of Trump’s second presidency, Darren Beattie—once ousted from the White House—is back in the spotlight, now serving as acting undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. For those following the whirlwind of cabinet reshuffles and hardline populist appointments, Beattie’s return feels like vintage Trump 2.0.

Beattie, once cast out in 2018 over a controversial speech linked to the H.L. Mencken Club, has since transformed from political exile to right-wing influencer. That once-disqualifying scandal? Today, it’s barely a blip—something Elon Musk might casually retweet or J.D. Vance might debate on X.

Far from fading into obscurity, Beattie leveraged his fall from grace. He launched Revolver News, a hardline conservative site aimed at replacing the once-influential Drudge Report. He became a regular voice on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, building a following that saw him as a martyr of cancel culture and a symbol of the “post-woke” era.

In many ways, Beattie is the poster child for the backlash against political correctness. While his public persona thrives on bold takes and controversy, those who’ve worked with him describe someone entirely different: measured, diplomatic, and deeply committed to his ideological mission.

Beattie’s path to political notoriety is anything but typical. A math prodigy turned political theorist, he taught at Duke and studied under renowned scholar Nathan Tarcov. He was also one of the first academics to openly support Trump in 2016—a bold move that burned bridges with both academia and the conservative establishment.

Raised partly in Palau, where his father served as a Supreme Court justice, Beattie returned to a U.S. he barely recognized. His politics, rooted in a sense of cultural loss and national decline, echo the very grievances that fueled Trump’s rise.

To his allies, Beattie’s new post isn’t just a comeback—it’s a perfect fit. He was never entirely at home in the speechwriting trenches of Trump’s first term. But now, as a key player in what’s being called “free speech diplomacy,” he’s found his niche.

He’s pushed controversial ideas, such as the theory that color revolutions are a staple of U.S. foreign policy—and even suggested the Capitol riot of January 6 may have involved federal complicity. His rise coincides with a more unapologetic Trump administration, one willing to make bold, even combative, ideological moves.

Beattie has also championed Trump’s economic nationalism, warning in 2017 that traditional conservatives were clinging to outdated Cold War economic doctrines. Citing Milton Friedman, he framed the mission as protecting individual liberties from centralized power—an ethos he now applies to global speech rights.

His current boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, appears to back this vision. Rubio hasn’t distanced himself from Beattie, despite past jabs. Instead, he’s deployed him as the face of a new diplomatic push: no free trade without free speech. That policy recently rattled the U.K. after the Trump administration signaled it wouldn’t pursue a trade deal unless Britain aligned with U.S. speech standards.

Still, the administration faces a credibility test. It champions free speech abroad while silencing dissent on issues like the Gaza conflict. Critics see hypocrisy. Beattie reportedly sees it as strategic realism—some choices, he believes, are simply above his pay grade.

Now based in Florida, Beattie may be settling in for the long haul. At just under 40, he has time—and a growing platform. He’s unlikely to face Senate confirmation, sparing him a public grilling. But if Trump reshuffles his inner circle again, Beattie could move up. Some speculate he could even succeed Michael Anton as Policy Planning Director—or beyond.

In hindsight, Beattie’s gamble on Trump may be paying off. Once discarded, now indispensable, Darren Beattie is no longer a footnote in Trumpworld. He’s part of the narrative.

Source: The American Conservative – Trump’s Free-Speech Warrior?

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