BESSENT EXPECTS U.S. TARIFF DEADLINE TO “MOVE THINGS ALONG” – He says the U.S. tariff deadline will move things along in trade talks with allies.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted a looming July 9 tariff deadline is “really going to move things along the next couple of days” toward trade deals with U.S. allies.
Trump on April 2 announced a 10% base tariff rate and additional amounts for most countries, some ranging as high as 50%. The news roiled financial markets, prompting the U.S. president to suspend all but the 10% base rate for 90 days – until July 9 – to allow more time for negotiations to secure deals, but the process has proven more challenging than expected.
Bessent denied that August 1 was a new deadline for negotiations, telling reporters, “by telling our trading partners that they could boomerang back to the April 2nd date, I think it is really going to move things along the next couple of days and weeks.”
Trump on Friday said countries not offering concessions could see their tariff rates spike up to 70%, but offered no details.
Bessent also said he does not think Trump announcing an early nominee to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May 2026, would disrupt Fed policy setting. “There are good candidates already on the Fed board for Fed chair, and they make their opinions known at every meeting, so I don’t find that disruptive at all.”
