New US tariff rates to kick in August 1 barring trade deals: Treasury Secretary

US tariffs will kick off on August 1 if trading partners from Taiwan to the European Union do not strike deals with Washington, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday.

The rates will "boomerang back" to the sometimes very high levels which President Donald Trump announced on April 2 before he suspended the levies to allow for trade talks and set a July 9 deadline for agreement, Bessent told CNN.

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US President Donald Trump earlier said he had signed letters to 12 countries outlining the various tariff levels they would face on goods they export to the United States, with the "take it or leave it" offers to be sent out on Monday.

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The 90-day pause that Trump announced in April is set to end on July 9, and he said tariffs could be even higher than the earlier announced rates, when they go into effect August 1.

The only trade agreements reached to date are with Britain, which reached a deal in May to keep a 10 per cent rate and won preferential treatment for some sectors including autos and aircraft engines, and with Vietnam, cutting tariffs on many Vietnamese goods to 20 per cent from his previously threatened 46 per cent. Many US products would be allowed to enter Vietnam duty free.

Earlier, a deal expected with India had failed to materialise, and EU diplomats said they failed to achieve a breakthrough in trade negotiations.