WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted Friday that the US could secure 10 more tariff deals with other countries before Labor Day — as the European Union is reportedly edging toward a new trade pact, too.
Bessent said the trade deals would give the US economy a major boost, as would the proposed tax cuts and deregulatory provisions in President Trump’s “big beautiful bill.”
“If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18 [tentative tariff deals], I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day,” the Treasury chief told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo in an interview.
“We will have taxes and trade, which I think will provide great stimulus from the economy, and then there’s the deregulatory impact,” he said.
It’s not clear which countries Bessent was talking about, but a pre-existing trade agreement with Canada and Mexico from Trump’s first term has expedited tariff discussions between those nations. Meanwhile, other talks involving Japan, South Korea and Vietnam are making progress, Wall Street sources told The Post.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also recently told officials she expected the EU could reach an agreement before mid-July, according to Bloomberg News.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted at the extra trade deals Thursday as the Trump administration recently secured tariff agreements with the UK and China — while the July 8 deadline looms for so-called “reciprocal” duties on products imported to the US.
The US-UK agreement aligns with Trump’s 10% global baseline tariff rate on all products including up to 100,000 imported cars annually. As part of the pact, Downing Street will scrap its 19% ethanol fuel tariff and the US is nixing all duties on British-made airplane parts.
The US will place 55% duties on goods from Beijing, too, while China will keep 10% tariffs on American products, Trump previously announced.
“Now our tariffs are 30[%] on them. We’re at 10[%]. We’re collecting a substantial tariff income,” Bessent noted Friday.
There are still details to be worked out regarding Chinese magnets and rare-earth minerals, while the US has pledged to walk back visa revocations for students coming from China to learn at US universities and colleges.
Trump first announced new 10% US “Liberation Day” tariffs April 2 and promised much higher “reciprocal” rates to reduce trade imbalances with the US that have consistently been postponed to allow for negotiations such as those conducted with the UK and China.
As some of his planned higher rates have fallen through, Wall Street traders coined the term “TACO” — for “Trump Always Chickens Out.”
Lower courts had initially blocked some of the new tariffs, but a federal appellate court paused that decision until a July 31 hearing.
Trump had previously set a goal for his administration to broker 90 trade deals in 90 days between April 9 and July 8.
The president has also set a July 4 deadline for Republicans in Congress to pass a massive tax-and-spending bill that makes items from Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent while also eliminating taxes on tips and overtime.
Bessent’s positive statements preceded the S&P 500 hitting a record high and stock futures surging Friday.
“In the first 100 days, we set the table for the peace deals, the trade deals and the tax deals,” the Treasury secretary said. “And now, in these 100 days, we’re bringing them all home.”
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