US Treasury Secretary Urges Trading Partners Not to Panic Over Tariffs
In Washington, Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent urged US trading partners on Wednesday to avoid “panic” regarding economic transactions ahead of President Trump’s tariff deadline this Friday.
Bescent encouraged that if any deals aren’t finalized by August 1st, market participants and corporate America needn’t worry excessively. “You can still complete transactions,” he mentioned at a forum hosted by Breitbart News at the Waldorf Astoria.
Looking ahead, Bescent suggested a “busy August” was on the horizon, hinting that tariffs might increase significantly from 10% to as high as 50%. He also offered further incentives for parties to engage in negotiations.
Both Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have made it clear that there would be no more extensions, indicating that prices would inevitably rise no matter which countries they were negotiating with.
“There’s no extension; there’s no grace period. As of August 1st, tariffs will be implemented, and customs will start collecting funds,” Bescent noted, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation.
However, he did add that conversations with President Trump could still occur post-deadline, reflecting that the president is always open to dialogue—though it’s uncertain whether such talks would lead to satisfactory outcomes.
On Wednesday morning, Trump reiterated his stance via various communications, stressing his views strongly.
Bescent’s comments came after he returned from a significant meeting with Chinese officials in Stockholm, where discussions were held just before the August 12 deadline for the new 34% tariffs that would affect trade with China.
He asserted that recent trade agreements, particularly with the European Union and Japan, have created a “much stronger leverage,” indicating that China wouldn’t benefit from any “special deals,” even though it ranks as one of the top trading partners with the US.
“They were a bit on the defensive during our discussions,” Bescent observed, noting that the US had recently finalized a trade agreement with Japan just before these negotiations began with the EU.
“We now have global support,” he added, suggesting a united front among allies.
Bescent and US trade representative Jamieson Greer conducted three rounds of consultations aimed at opening up the Chinese market to US goods.
A trade ceasefire was agreed upon in June, with Trump implementing a 30% tariff. This rate combines a 10% baseline tariff and an additional 20% as a penalty for the influx of fentanyl components from Asian sources. Even so, this is significantly lower than the 145% tariff that Trump had threatened during earlier tensions.
Still, Trump expressed an optimistic outlook over the weekend, telling reporters in Scotland that “we’re very close to making a deal with China.”
