Secretary Besant's Interview on CNN
"Important Announcements to Come in the Next Few Days"
Treasury Secretary Scott Besant announced that tariffs, which had previously been suspended, will be reimposed on countries with which there has been no progress in trade negotiations, as the mutual tariff suspension is set to expire on July 8 (local time).
On July 6 (local time), Secretary Besant appeared on CNN's 'State of the Union' and, when asked what would happen after the expiration of the mutual tariff suspension, stated, "I expect there will be some important announcements in the coming days," making the above comments.
He said, "President Trump will send a letter to some of our trading partners stating that if there is no progress in negotiations, we will revert to the April 2 tariff levels on August 1," and added, "So I believe we will see many agreements very soon."
Previously, on July 4, President Trump warned that he would send a letter specifying mutual tariff rates to the 12 major countries on July 7. He stated that the tariff rates could range from 10-20% up to as high as 60-70%.
Secretary Besant, ahead of the expiration of the mutual tariff suspension, said, "We are close to reaching several agreements," but explained, "As always, there are delays on the other side of the negotiations." He went on to add, "If you want to speed up the negotiations, do so; if you want to revert to the previous tariff rates, do that. The choice is yours."
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