Trump: has signed 12 trade letters and plans to send them out on Monday.

The latest tariff threat from President Trump is putting global markets on edge. According to the Global Times, President Trump announced that starting on July 4th, the US government will notify countries that have not reached a trade agreement of new tariff rates ranging from 10% to 70%, with plans to formally implement them starting on August 1st. The upper limit of this tariff rate (70%) is much higher than the 50% announced in April, leading to concerns in the market that this move will exacerbate inflation risks in the US economy and potentially trigger a new round of asset sell-offs. On Friday, July 5th, President Trump confirmed to the media aboard Air Force One that he had signed tariff letters to be sent to "approximately 12" countries and planned to send them out on Monday, July 8th. He described these letters as a final ultimatum of "take it or leave it" and stated: "(compared to previous complicated negotiations) the letters are better... and much easier." This shift in strategy marks a significant adjustment in White House trade policy. In April of this year, the Trump administration announced a 10% basic tariff and additional tariffs for most countries, but later provided a 90-day negotiation window, which is set to expire on July 9th. With the deadline approaching, it appears that the US government has lost patience in reaching a broad agreement through negotiations. Behind the change in strategy is the repeated failures in negotiations with major trading partners. Media reports indicate that Trump has become disillusioned with the process after setbacks in negotiations with Japan and the EU. The prolonged traditional trade negotiation model is facing significant challenges under the accelerated timeline set by the White House. As of now, only a few countries have reached agreements with the US. The UK reached an agreement in May, maintaining a 10% basic tax rate and obtaining exemptions in key areas such as automobiles; while Vietnam successfully lowered tariffs on some of its goods from the 46% threatened by Trump to 20%. Shifting from complex negotiations to unilateral ultimatums, the US's aggressive trade strategy has brought significant uncertainty to the global economy. As the July 9th deadline approaches, markets are holding their breath, watching for the final destinations of these 12 mysterious letters and the chain reactions they may ignite. This article is edited by GMTEight and sourced from "Wall Street View" by the author Gao Zhimou.