US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Sunday that if no agreement is reached with the United States in the coming days, the tariffs—which could reach 50%—announced in early April and then suspended pending negotiations would take effect on August 1st.
The US administration intends to implement the sweeping tariffs announced in early April and then quickly suspended pending negotiations with all countries starting on August 1st, although with only two agreements officially concluded just days before the deadline, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Sunday, July 6th, that if no agreement is reached with Washington in the coming days, the tariffs—which could reach 50%—would take effect on August 1st.
The July 9th deadline for the implementation of these punitive duties had previously been mentioned until President Donald Trump said on Friday, without further details, that the countries concerned would begin paying on August 1st.
"President Trump is going to send letters to some of our trading partners saying that if they don't move forward, then on August 1st, they'll boomerang back to the April 2nd tariff level," Scott Bessent explained on CNN.
"Therefore, I think you're going to see a lot of deals very quickly," he assured, anticipating "several important announcements in the coming days" despite "a lot of resistance."
At this point, two deals have been announced, with the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
"Last-minute deals"
Speaking shortly after on CBS, White House chief economic adviser Kevin Hassett also stated that "there would be deals"—perhaps "last-minute"—but without specifying a specific number.
"We've seen many deals finalized by negotiators, but then President Trump found elements that could make them better," he said, adding that it would be up to the president to decide whether or not to extend the suspension of tariff surcharges, especially if they were close to finalization.
Similarly, ABC reported, where Stephen Miran, head of the White House Economic Council, also hinted at a possible flexibility in the deadline for countries negotiating "in good faith and making concessions."
He also expects "a number of agreements later this week."
"It's important that countries make concessions to reach these agreements, to convince the president that they should have lower tariffs," he said, calling the agreement with Vietnam "a fantastic deal for the Americans."
"I not involved in the details of the discussions, but I'm hearing good things about the negotiations with Europe. I'm hearing good things about the negotiations with India," Kevin Hassett noted.
"The [US] strategy is to apply maximum pressure," Scott Bessent explained, citing the European Union as an example.
"The European Union was very slow to come to the negotiating table until, three weeks ago, on a Friday morning, President Trump threatened 50% tariffs," the minister recounted. "Within hours, five European leaders called him, and Ursula von der Leyen, the EU chief, was on the phone." "The EU is making very good progress," he noted.
French Economy Minister Éric Lombard said on Saturday that he hoped for an agreement "this weekend," believing that, failing that, the EU should respond with "more vigor."
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