Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he’s prepared to set tariffs against countries that won’t negotiate with him.
The United States recently secured a trade deal with China that included negotiations on “tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers, currency manipulation, and subsidies of labor and capital,” according to Bessent. China was an outlier among foreign countries facing tariffs, with a 145% initial tariff. The tariff has since been reduced to 30%. The U.S. has also secured a trade deal with the United Kingdom.
While appearing on Meet the Press, Bessent explained details regarding “letters” promised by President Donald Trump to other countries that have initiated negotiations but don’t yet have a deal.
“This means if they are not negotiating in good faith, they are going to get a letter saying, ‘Here is the rate.’ So I expect everyone would come and negotiate in good faith,” Bessent said.
BESSENT SAYS CHINA ‘IGNORED THEIR OBLIGATIONS’ ON TRADE UNDER BIDEN
“I think that it would be the April 2 level — some countries were at 10%, some were substantially higher,” Bessent said about the rates the countries face. “And the negotiating levers that President Trump is talking about here is if you don’t want to negotiate, it will spring back to the April 2 level.”
Trump initially issued tariffs against 86 countries to begin on April 2. China was the only country to retaliate with tariffs against U.S. goods after Trump announced the “Liberation Day” tariffs. Some 75 countries negotiated their tariffs down to 10%, which happened before Trump issued a pause against most tariffs through July 9.
