U.S. Futures Slide As Trump Says Tariff Letters Will Be Sent Out Today

Forbes

10 hours ago

U.S. stock futures slumped early on Friday after President Donald Trump said his administration will start sending out letters to trading partners to inform them about the unilateral tariff rate to be imposed on them, which he suggested could be as high as 70%.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he arrives on Air Force One, Friday, July 4, 2025, ... More at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
All major U.S. futures indexes were hit hard early on Friday, led by the benchmark S&P 500 futures, which dropped nearly 0.6% to 6,288 points.
Dow Futures fell 0.5% to 44,865 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Futures dropped by 0.56% to 22,932.25 points.
U.S. markets will remain closed on Friday for Independence Day.
European stocks also appeared to be hit by news of the unilateral tariffs, as the pan-European STOXX 50 index fell by 0.7% and the London Stock Exchange's FTSE 100 index dropped by 0.3%.
Trump told reporters on Thursday that his administration will likely start sending out letters on Friday informing trading partners about the tariff rates they will face starting next month. The president said that '10 or 12' letters are likely to be sent out on Friday, with more letters to follow in the 'next few days.' Trump expects all such unilateral tariff letters to be sent out by July 9, the deadline he had previously set for concluding trade negotiations and ending a 90-day pause on his 'Liberation Day' tariffs. Trump told reporters: 'They'll range in value from maybe 60 or 70% tariffs to 10 and 20% tariffs.' The president, however, didn't specify which countries are likely to receive such letters. What Has Trump Previously Said About Unilateral Tariffs?
Last month, Trump said the U.S. was holding trade negotiations with around 15 countries, but noted that the U.S. has '150 plus' trading partners and 'at a certain point, we're just going to send letters out…saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it.' At the time, Trump had said the letters would go out 'in about a week and a half, two weeks.'