Trump Targets Brunei With 25% Tariff Citing Trade Deficit, Manufacturing Incentives

President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff rate on Brunei on Wednesday in a letter published on Truth Social, amid tariff letters to six other countries, which includes the Philippines, Moldova, Algeria, Iraq, Libya and Sri Lanka. 

The announcement comes after Trump has already announced tariffs on South Korea, Japan, and 12 other countries. 

In the tariff letter to Brunei, which was nearly identical to the letters issued to other countries, Trump told the Sultan of Brunei that the country could avoid the tariffs altogether if it chose to manufacture in the U.S. 

He also clarified that the 25% tariff on Brunei would be in addition to the sectoral tariffs that are already in place. 

Trump added that goods transshipped to evade a higher tariff would be subject to that higher tariff. Transhipping refers to the practice of rerouting goods through another country before shipping them to the U.S. This is usually done to take advantage of lower duties applicable to the third country.

He also warned that if Brunei responded with reciprocal tariffs, then equivalent tariffs would be added to the levies the U.S. has imposed on Iraq.

“Please understand that the 25% number is far less than what is needed to eliminate the Trade Deficit disparity we have with your country,” the President said in his Truth Social post.

Equity markets remained in the green after the announcement. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the broader S&P 500 index, was up 0.26%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) was 0.15% higher. Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (QQQ), which tracks the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100, gained 30% in morning trade.

However, retail sentiment on Stocktwits around SPY dipped to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ a day ago.

Trump warned on Wednesday that he would be issuing letters to at least seven countries today. More trade letters are expected in the afternoon.

According to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, there are another 15 to 20 new tariff letters due in the coming days. He also said that the copper tariffs announced by Trump are likely to be put into place by the end of July, maybe August 1.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the President also said that the U.S. would be implementing 50% tariffs on copper as well as trade levies on the semiconductor and pharmaceutical sectors.

So far, only six letters have been released addressed to 

According to Trade Secretary Scott Bessent, the U.S. has already collected $100 billion in tariffs so far this year and expects that figure to reach $300 billion by year-end.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Read also: Trump Slaps 30% Tariff On Iraq, Says It’s ‘Less Than What Is Needed’

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