Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that counties that do not make deals with the United States by August will see their tariff rates set back to the rates from the April 2 “Liberation Day.”
The Trump administration had set a temporary 90-day freeze to cap most tariffs at 10% a week after announcing them in April, and that three-month freeze is set to expire July 9.
“It’s not a new deadline. 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,’” Bessent said on CNN.
“We are close to several deals. As always, there’s a lot of foot-dragging on the other side,” he added. “I would expect to see several big announcements over the next couple of days.”
President Donald Trump had said several countries would receive a letter on Monday outlining their tariff rate, noting he preferred this route after negotiations.
“They’ll range in value from maybe 60% or 70% tariffs to 10% and 20% tariffs,” Trump said. “It’s a lot of money for the country, but we’re giving them a bargain.”
TRUMP TO RESUME TARIFFS ON MAJOR TRADE PARTNERS
Bessent hinted that some countries may see negotiations before the fast-approaching deadline, saying, “I’m not going to give away the playbook because we’re going to be very busy over the next 72 hours.”
“President Trump’s going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners,” he added, “saying that if you don’t move things along, then on Aug. 1, you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level.”
