US President Donald Trump announced that he will send the first letters on tariffs to various countries on July 7, days before the deadline for trade partners to reach an agreement.

On July 6, Trump said he would send the first batch of up to 15 letters warning that if countries fail to reach agreements, U.S. levies on imports would return to the high levels he set in April.

Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said the tariffs would not return "like a boomerang" before Aug. 1 - giving extra room to make deals on a topic that has brought uncertainty to global markets.

"I am pleased to announce that the letters on USA tariffs and/or deals with various countries around the world will be delivered at 12:00 p.m. (7 p.m. EDT), Monday, July 7," Trump wrote on his social network Truth.

In a later post, he threatened countries that join the developing BRICS with new 10% tariffs, accusing them of "anti-Americanism" after they condemned his duties at the July 6 summit.

Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2 - which he called "Liberation Day" - imposing a 10 percent duty on imports from nearly all trading partners. For some countries, including some in the European Union, much higher rates were also envisaged.

After the markets collapsed, Trump suspended the tariffs for 90 days to allow for negotiations - a deadline that expires on 9 July.

So far, however, the results have been limited, with Washington presenting deals only with Britain and Vietnam, while agreeing with China to temporarily reduce the other country's staggeringly high levies on its products.

Trump told reporters as he boarded Air Force One that "could be 12, could be 15" letters he would send. | BGNES