Trump prepares shock tariff blitz on SIXTY nations as advisers scramble to rein him in - president flirting with midterm bloodbath

By ROSS IBBETSON, ASSOCIATE EDITOR Published: 13:56, 21 July 2026 | Updated: 13:58, 21 July 2026 Donald Trump is preparing to unleash a fresh wave of tariffs on dozens of countries within days, brushing aside warnings from his own advisers that a renewed trade war could rattle the economy ahead of the midterms. The President hammered Canada with a 50 percent levy on a sweep of goods on Monday, days after slapping 25 percent duties on Brazilian imports. Now officials have drawn up options for Trump to hit dozens more nations as his blanket 10 percent global tariff is set to lapse on Friday, the Financial Times reports. Senior officials have privately urged the President to keep the peace with trading partners and honor the deals Washington cut in 2025 to bring their rates down, according to the FT.  Democrats hold a nine-point lead on the midterm ballot, 50 per cent to 41 per cent, according to a Daily Mail/JL Partners poll this month, a warning sign for a president whose economic ratings are sliding. The next round of tariffs is expected to target 60 countries with duties of between 10 and 12.5 percent, justified by a US investigation into forced labor practices first floated by trade officials in June. A separate probe into excess manufacturing capacity has swept up the EU, China, Japan, India, Mexico, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Switzerland, Norway, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Bangladesh. The immediate levies are expected to sit roughly in line with the existing 10 percent, though the administration is chasing other investigations that could unlock far steeper duties down the line. Donald Trump holds up a chart as he announces tariffs on 'Liberation Day' in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025 The maneuvering lays bare how the White House is now leaning on a patchwork of procedural trade laws to impose duties after the Supreme Court struck down the sweeping 'Liberation Day' levies Trump announced in April 2025. Those reciprocal tariffs were replaced in February by the global 10 percent regime now about to expire, with the forced labor route allowing Trump to sidestep the emergency powers the justices rejected. The renewed offensive lands as tensions with Iran boil over, convulsing global energy markets and threatening to drag the region into a wider conflict. The fighting has hit American wallets hard, driving Brent crude above $90 per barrel and gasoline back above $4 per gallon this week as annual inflation runs near 3.3 percent on the Cleveland Fed's latest nowcast. More than half of voters rate Trump's handling of the economy as bad and the same share say conditions are worsening, according to the Daily Mail's polling. US trade envoys have already blunted some of the harshest measures of Trump's tariffs, carving out exemptions for staples such as beef and coffee and softening levies on steel and aluminum goods. After recent inquiries into critical minerals and airplane parts, officials advised negotiating with trading partners rather than reaching for tariffs, the FT reports. The White House has been contacted for comment.