Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Fox Business said the administration is "about to announce a rash of trade deals in the coming days."
The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, who, like the chairman, represents a state where logging is an important part of the economy, said the U.S. and Canada should return to a quota system to resolve the softwood lumber irritant.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking on CNBC, did not say for sure that tariffs will go up on Aug. 1 on trading partners, but said, "I would think that a higher tariff level will put more pressure on those countries to come with a better agreement."
House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., is trying to force votes in the House to end the emergency that justifies reciprocal tariffs and on a bill that would hike tariffs to 500% on Russian products.
A former Mexican trade negotiator and deputy foreign affairs minister and two think-tank analysts agreed that it would have made sense for Mexico to capture more manufacturing, leaving China in the wake of President Donald Trump's initial trade war, but they said that if Mexico changes course on its energy policy and effectively tackles cargo theft, it could garner more investment.
For the countries outside America's top 30 or so trading partners, the U.S. likely will apply either 10% or 15% tariffs, President Donald Trump said in a telephone interview July 16.
Trade restrictions in pending Section 232 investigations for copper, lumber, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, heavy-duty trucks, commercial aircraft and engines, polysilicon and drones are a foregone conclusion, but "exactly what those trade measures will look like" has not been decided, Steptoe's Jeff Weiss said during a firm webinar.
A bill has passed the House of Representatives that requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to run a pilot program to see if artificial intelligence can advance its mission. It tasks the CPSC to see if AI can monitor internet websites, for the sale of recalled consumer products, and identify products that the CPSC has found should be refused admission to the U.S.
The president of Indonesia confirmed to reporters in Jakarta that he agreed to 19% tariffs, in exchange for buying more wheat, soybeans, fuel and Boeing aircraft.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative launched a Section 301 investigation on Brazilian policies that discriminate against American firms, naming these issues: