Bessent calls Aug. 1 ‘a pretty hard deadline’ on Trump tariffs
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said the Aug. 1 date set by President Trump for tariffs to hit countries that fail to negotiate deals with the U.S. is a “hard deadline.”
Bessent during an interview on “Mornings with Maria” on Fox Business said countries without trade deals will be hit with the reciprocal tariffs Trump announced in the spring, which caused markets to drop amid fears of higher prices and an economic slowdown.
“I think August 1 is a pretty hard deadline… for all countries because what I think will happen is that the tariff level will boomerang back to the reciprocal level from April 2,” Bessent said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t negotiate when the countries are at the higher level. As a matter of fact, I think President Trump may have created a pretty ingenious strategy here that if you’re working at the high level you’re actually going to work faster.”
Businesses are bracing for Trump to impose tariff rates of between 20 and 50 percent based on his earlier warnings. The administration has downplayed any negative repercussions from the tariffs while arguing they will bring back U.S. manufacturing.
Bessent on Monday told CNBC that the Aug. 1 deadline is intended to “put more pressure on those countries to come with better agreements.”
On Tuesday morning, Bessent also teased that new trade deals could come out this week for industry-specific rates.
“We’re about to announce a rash of trade deals in the coming days and a lot of these trade deals are going to include substantial investments in the U.S., whether it’s auto, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals,” Bessent said.
Bessent is set to travel to Stockholm early next week for talks with his Chinese counterparts about the U.S.-China trade deal, which he said is set to expire on Aug 12.
“We’ll be working out what is likely an extension then,” he said about his expectations for the third round of U.S.-China trade talks. “I think trade’s in a very good place with China.”
He also previewed that talks with China will include on sanctions on Russia oil, which would set 100 percent tariff on countries who buy it.
“President Donald Trump has changed the narrative here that tariffs can be used for negotiations, away from just economics, but for world peace,” Bessent said.
Last week, Trump lowered the rate on Indonesia from 32 to 19 percent after striking a deal.