Tariff Deadline Countdown: 10 days! Trump: "I don't think it needs to be postponed," and even wants to start imposing a 25% tariff on Japan ahead of schedule.

The deadline for tariffs set by various countries with the United States for July 9th is only 10 days away, and U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he believes there is no need to extend the deadline for trade negotiations with other countries; those that do not reach an agreement by then will face higher tariffs. He said, "I don't think an extension is necessary," adding, "Of course, it can be extended, it's not a big deal." His remarks last Friday on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" continued his previous tough stance. He said at a press conference last Friday that the government could handle the deadline "arbitrarily," including moving it forward or postponing it: "I'm even thinking of shortening the deadline and sending a letter to everyone saying, 'Congratulations, you will pay a 25% tariff.' " Earlier this year, Trump and his team had ambitious negotiation plans and had repeatedly stated that they were negotiating to reduce trade deficits and eliminate barriers with dozens of trading partners. In an interview aired on Fox News on Sunday, Trump also said that trade between the U.S. and Japan is unfair in terms of automobile trade and suggested maintaining a 25% tariff on cars. If an agreement cannot be reached, the U.S. will raise tariffs on cars across the board in just over a week. He said, "So we don't give Japan cars. They don't accept our cars, right? Yet we bring millions of their cars into the U.S. This is unfair." These comments were made after a new round of talks between Japan's chief trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. They indicate that there is still a long way to go before an agreement can be reached, and highlight the risk that Trump may insist on levying a 25% tariff on cars, implying that the U.S. can unilaterally set trading terms with Japan. Also last Friday, Trump said he would terminate trade negotiations with Canada and threatened to set new tariff rates on Canadian goods this week. Trump said the move was a response to Canada's imposition of a digital services tax on tech companies, calling it a "direct and open attack on our country." He wrote on Truth Social, "We will let Canada know in the next seven days what tariffs they need to pay to do business with the U.S." Commerce Secretary Lutnick claimed that the U.S. is close to reaching trade agreements with 10 major trading partners, with countries from Canada to Japan working hard to finalize negotiations within the remaining two weeks. Treasury Secretary Scott Benet expressed doubts about the timeline, saying, "countries are approaching us with high-quality proposals," but it may not be possible to finalize all of them before the resumption of country-specific tariffs on April 2. He said, "If we can finalize 10 to 12 out of the 18 important partnersplus another 20 key relationships, I believe we can complete trade agreements by Labor Day (usually the first Monday in September) in the U.S." It is still unclear how comprehensive the trade agreements the government hopes to reach are. Core issues in the U.S.-UK agreement praised by Trump are still unresolved, and recent agreements such as the U.S.-China deal have left uncertainties in areas such as fentanyl smuggling and market access for U.S. exporters. Trump hinted that India may be close to reaching an agreement, as a team of Indian trade officials completed negotiations in Washington last week.