US races to close several trade deals before July 9 deadline, Bessent says
Photo: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (Getty Images)
The United States is close to finalizing several more trade deals before higher tariffs take effect on July 9, reports Reuters, citing US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Speaking on CNN, Bessent predicted significant announcements in the coming days. He also said that US President Donald Trump will send letters to 100 smaller countries with which the US has limited trade.
These letters will inform the countries that they will face higher tariff rates, which were set on April 2 but then suspended for 90 days.
"President Trump's going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that if you don't move things along, then on August 1, you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level. So I think we're going to see a lot of deals very quickly," Bessent told CNN.
At the same time, he denied that August 1 is a new deadline for tariff negotiations.
"We are saying this is when it's happening. If you want to speed things up, have at it. If you want to go back to the old rate, that's your choice," the Secretary added.
Reuters also cites Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council. In an interview on CBS, he offered countries engaged in serious talks some conditional leeway.
"There are deadlines, and there are things that are close, and so maybe things will push back past the deadline," Hassett said, adding that Trump would decide if that could happen.
Trump's tariffs
On April 2, Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs against most of the United States’ trading partners.
The tariffs had a base rate of 10%, but for some countries, duties reached 50%. The announcement unsettled financial markets, prompting Trump to suspend all tariffs for 90 days—until July 9—to allow time for negotiations. Meanwhile, the base 10% tariff remained in effect.
So far, the US has signed trade deals only with the United Kingdom and China. Serious negotiations are also underway with Vietnam, India, Taiwan, Brazil, the European Union, and Japan.
It is also worth noting that recently, Trump said he is not considering postponing the tariff deadline.
Additionally, he told reporters that he signed letters with different tariff levels for 12 countries. According to him, the letters will be sent as soon as tomorrow, Monday, July 7.
