U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday the Trump administration’s various trade deals with other countries could be done by the Sept. 1 Labor Day holiday, citing talks with 18 main U.S. trading partners and new revisions to a deal with China aimed at expediting rare earths shipments, News.az reports citing Investing.
After a week where tariffs took a back seat to the U.S. strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities and the massive tax and spending bill in Congress, the Trump administration’s trade negotiations have picked up. The United States sent a new proposal to the European Union on Thursday and India sent a delegation to Washington for more talks.
"So we have countries approaching us with very good deals," Bessent said on Fox Business Network.
"We have 18 important trading partners. ... If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," Bessent said.
He did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher, but has previously said that countries negotiating in good faith could get deals.
But President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter," adding that within the next week and a half, he would notify countries of their tariff rates.
