Bessent Says Regional Tariff Rates May Be Set in Africa, Central America
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNN's "State of the Union with Jake Tapper" on May 18 that among almost 20 countries with which administration officials have begun trade negotiations, "with a few exceptions, the countries are coming with very good proposals for us."
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However, Bessent said, if countries "do not negotiate in good faith," the Liberation Day rates announced April 2 will go into effect.
"And there are a lot of smaller trading relationships that we can just come up with a number," Bessent added. "My other sense is that we will do a lot of regional deals. This is the rate for Central America. This is the rate for this part of Africa. But what we are focused on right now are the 18 important trading relationships."
Central America had a free-trade agreement with the U.S. before Liberation Day. For Guatemala, for example, about 73% of its exports to the U.S were duty free in 2022, according to the World Bank. However, its fifth largest export was sugar, which is subject to TRQs in the U.S.