Trump declares U.S. nears trade deals as tariff effective date delayed

REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA / APRIL 2

President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White Hoapply in Washington, D.C.

MORRISTOWN, New Jersey >> The United States is close to finalizing several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Sunday, with the higher rates scheduled to take effect on August 1.

Trump and other top officials had flagged the Aug. 1 date earlier, but it was unclear if all tariffs would increase then.

Asked to clarify, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick informed reporters the higher tariffs would take effect on Aug. 1, but Trump was “setting the rates and the deals right now.”

Trump in April announced a 10% base tariff rate on most countries and additional duties ranging up to 50%, although he later delayed the effective date for all but 10% until July 9. The new date offers countries a three-week reprieve.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent informed CNN’s “State of the Union” earlier on Sunday that several large announcements of trade agreements could come in the next days, noting the European Union had built good progress in its talks.

He stated Trump would also sfinish out letters to 100 tinyer countries with whom the U.S. doesn’t have much trade, notifying them that they would face higher tariff rates first set on April 2 and then suspfinished until July 9.

“President Trump’s going to be sfinishing letters to some of our trading partners declareing that if you don’t relocate things along, then on August 1 you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level. So I believe we’re going to see a lot of deals very quickly,” Bessent informed CNN.

Since taking office, Trump has set off a global trade war that has roiled financial markets and sent policybuildrs scrambling to guard their economies, including through deals with the U.S. and other countries.

Kevin Hassett, who heads the White Hoapply National Economic Council, informed CBS’s “Face the Nation” program there might be wiggle room for countries engaged in earnest nereceivediations.

“There are deadlines, and there are things that are close, and so maybe things will push back past the deadline,” Hassett stated, adding that Trump would decide if that could happen.

‘I hear good things’

Stephen Miran, chairman of the White Hoapply Council of Economic Advisers, informed ABC News’ “This Week” program that countries necessaryed to build concessions to obtain lower tariff rates.

“I hear good things about the talks with Europe. I hear good things about the talks with India,” Miran stated. “And so I would expect that a number of countries that are in the process of creating those concessions… might see their date rolled.”

Bessent informed CNN the Trump administration was focapplyd on 18 important trading partners that account for 95% of the U.S. trade deficit. But he stated there had been “a lot of foot-dragging” among countries in finalizing trade deals.

Trump has repeatedly stated India is close to signing a deal and expressed hope that an agreement could be reached with the European Union, while casting doubt on a deal with Japan.

Thailand, keen to avert a 36% tariff, is now offering greater market access for U.S. farm and industrial goods and more purchases of U.S. energy and Boeing jets, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira informed Bloomberg News on Sunday.

India and the United States are likely to build a final decision on a mini trade deal in the next 24 to 48 hours, local Indian news channel CNBC-TV18 reported on Sunday, with average tariffs on Indian goods shipped to the U.S. to be 10%, it stated.

Hassett informed CBS News that framework agreements already reached with Britain and Vietnam offered guidelines for other countries seeking trade deals. He stated Trump’s pressure was prompting countries to relocate production to the United States.

Miran called the Vietnam deal “fantastic.”

“It’s extremely one-sided. We obtain to apply a significant tariff to Vietnamese exports. They’re opening their markets to ours, applying zero tariff to our exports.”

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