The United States will reinstate reciprocal tariffs first announced April 2 for countries it is unable to reach deals with during the current 90-day pause, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in multiple interviews Sunday.
Bessent’s comments came two days after President Donald Trump, while visiting the United Arab Emirates, said countries would be notified of their tariff rates within two to three weeks.
On April 9, Trump instituted a 90-day pause on a slew of country-specific tariff rates subject to his reciprocal tariff policy, instead maintaining a 10% baseline rate for most trading partners.
Since then, the U.S. has outlined a trade deal with the United Kingdom and agreed to a 90-day tariff reduction for imports from China.
“But it's not possible to meet the number of people that want to see us,” Trump said Friday after indicating that his administration has received interest in negotiating from 150 countries.
The administration is instead focused on “18 important trading partners” and “probably another 20 strong relationships,” Bessent told CNN on Sunday.
“President Trump has put them on notice that if you do not negotiate in good faith, that you will ratchet back up to your April 2 level,” Bessent said. The U.S. may also consider “regional deals” to cover smaller trading relationships in areas like Central America and Africa, he added, although he did not provide further details on what such pacts would entail.
The current pause on the Trump administration’s country-specific reciprocal tariffs is set to expire July 9. The suspension has temporarily lowered duties Trump hiked on countries such as Vietnam (46%), India (26%) and Japan (24%).
