Bessent: Extension of 30% Tariffs on China Past Aug. 12 Likely
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Fox Business said the administration is "about to announce a rash of trade deals in the coming days."
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He said countries that reach deals will announce investments in the U.S. in auto, pharmaceutical and semiconductor manufacturing.
He also suggested that for countries that don't reach a deal before Aug. 1, they will be motivated to negotiate faster once higher tariffs are in place, and called this a "pretty ingenious strategy" from the president.
While he suggested reciprocal tariffs won't be pushed out further for Japan, South Korea or the EU, he said it's likely that the combination of reciprocal and fentanyl tariffs applied to China will hold steady past the Aug. 12 end of the current arrangement.
He said he is traveling to Sweden on Monday to talk to Chinese counterparts.
"I think trade's in a very good place with China," he said, but he'd like China to stop subsidizing manufacturing overcapacity, and he said he'd be talking to China about ending its purchases of Russian oil. He also wants to talk to them about "what they're doing to aid Russia in the Ukraine war."
Bessent noted that Chinese and Indian exports will be subject to 100% tariffs if the two countries don't stop buying Russian oil, and if Russia doesn't stop its assaults on Ukraine.
He said he expects constructive talks next week, "and we're going to be able to get a lot of things done now that trade is kind of settled in at a good level."