US could announce trade deals with some countries this week
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 6, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
WASHINGTON: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said the Trump administration could announce trade agreements with some of the United States' largest trade partners as early as this week, but gave no details on which countries were involved.
He said the administration was negotiating with 17 major trading partners, but had not yet engaged with China, the world's second-largest economy after the United States.
He said many trading partners have made very good offers and Trump officials were in the process of "re-negotiating" those now.
"I expect that we can see a substantial reduction of the tariffs that we are being charged, as well as non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation and subsidies, both labor and capital investment," he told the House Appropriations Committee.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his top officials have engaged in a flurry of meetings with trading partners since the president on April 2 imposed a 10% tariff on most countries, along with higher tariff rates for many trading partners that were then suspended for 90 days. He has also imposed 25% tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 145% tariffs on China.
Bessent said about 97% or 98% of the U.S. trade deficit was with about 15 countries, most of which were major trading partners, and discussions were proceeding well with many.
"I would be surprised if we don't have more than 80 or 90% of those wrapped by the end of the year, and that may be much sooner," he said. "I would think that perhaps as early as this week we will be announcing trade deals with some of our largest trading partners."
Trump told reporters on Sunday that his administration could announce some trade deals this week, but gave no details.
Administration officials have suggested that India and Japan could be the first countries to sign a trade agreement with the Trump administration to lower the tariff rates Trump has threatened.
Bessent's comments on the lack of negotiations with China came after Trump on Sunday told reporters that he had no plans to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, but U.S. officials were speaking with Chinese officials about a variety of different things.
In an interview with NBC News that was broadcast on Sunday, Trump acknowledged that he had been "very tough with China," essentially cutting off trade between the world's top two economies, but said Beijing now wanted to reach an agreement.
"They want to make a deal. They want to make a deal very badly. We'll see how that all turns out, but it's got to be a fair deal," he said at the time. - Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Political divide widens as Trump deploys National Guard to Los Angeles
Members of the California National Guard stand outside the Edward R. Roybal federal building after their deployment by U.S. President Donald Trump, in response to protests against immigration sweeps, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake BEDMINSTER, New Jersey (Reuters) - Republicans and Democrats traded barbs on Sunday after President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles amid massive protests against increasing and divisive immigration raids. "Important to remember that Trump isn't trying to heal or keep the peace. He is looking to inflame and divide," Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said in one of the most direct rebukes. "His movement doesn't believe in democracy or protest - and if they get a chance to end the rule of law they will take it." Democratic Senator Cory Booker condemned Trump for deploying troops without California's approval, warning it would only escalate tensions. On NBC's "Meet the Press" he accused Trump of hypocrisy, and noted the president's inaction on January 6, 2021 when thousands of his supporters raided the U.S. Capitol and his subsequent pardons for those arrested. Footage showed at least a half dozen military-style vehicles and riot shields on Sunday at the federal building in Los Angeles with federal law enforcement firing gas canisters to disperse demonstrators protesting against the ICE crackdown. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Trump sparred over the protests, with Newsom condemning the federal response as an overreach, saying Trump wants "a spectacle," while the president accused Newsom of failing to maintain order. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday defended Trump's decision and said he had no concern about the National Guard deployment, adding, "One of our core principles is maintaining peace through strength. We do that in foreign affairs and domestic affairs as well. I don't think that's heavy handed." Republican Senator James Lankford said Trump is trying to de-escalate tensions, pointing to scenes of protesters throwing objects at law enforcement. He recalled similar unrest in 2020 in Seattle and Portland, where National Guard backed local law enforcement amid racial justice protests. The protests against the raids have become the latest focal point in a national debate over immigration, protest rights, and the use of federal force in domestic affairs. It also has fueled discussion on the boundaries of presidential power and the public's right to dissent. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington, editing by Michelle Nichols and Aurora Ellis)
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
National Guard deployed in Los Angeles amid protests against immigration raids
A man on a motorcycle waves a Mexican flag as smoke rises from a burning car on Atlantic Boulevard, during a standoff by protesters and law enforcement, following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the Los Angeles County city of Compton, California, U.S., June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Barbara Davidson LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California National Guard arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday, deployed by President Donald Trump after two days of protests by hundreds of demonstrators against immigration raids carried out as part of Trump's hardline policy. About a dozen National Guard members were seen in video footage on Sunday morning lining up at a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, where detainees from immigration raids on Friday were taken, sparking protests that continued on Saturday. The complex is near Los Angeles City Hall, where another protest against the immigration raids is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. U.S. Northern Command confirmed National Guard troops had started deploying and that some were already on the ground. "These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday. California Governor Gavin Newsom has accused Trump of deploying the National Guard because he wants "a spectacle." Footage showed at least a half dozen military-style vehicles and riot shields on Sunday at the federal building where the Department of Homeland Security said about "1,000 rioters" had protested on Friday. Reuters could not verify the DHS account. On Saturday law enforcement faced off against a few hundred protesters in Paramount in southeast Los Angeles and then later on Saturday with about 100 people in downtown Los Angeles, according to Reuters witnesses. Federal law enforcement was seen firing gas canisters in Paramount and downtown Los Angeles on Saturday to try and disperse protesters. The Los Angeles Police Department arrested 27 people on Saturday for failure to disperse from the downtown protest, police spokesperson Norma Eisenman said. She said she could not comment on whether LAPD used less lethal force. Less lethal force refers to crowd control tactics such as pepper balls. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department arrested three people on Saturday on suspicion of assaulting an officer. Sheriff's deputies did use "less lethal force" in Paramount, spokesperson Deputy Brenda Serna said, but she could not specify which exact tactics were used. 'ZERO TOLERANCE' The protests pit Democratic-run Los Angeles, where census data suggests a significant part of the population is Hispanic and foreign-born, against Trump's Republican White House, which has made an immigration crackdown a hallmark of his second term. Trump in a presidential memorandum on Saturday said he was deploying at least 2,000 National Guard personnel following what he described as "numerous incidents of violence and disorder" in response to the enforcement of federal immigration law, as well as "credible threats of continued violence." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also warned that the Pentagon was prepared to mobilize active-duty troops "if violence continues" in Los Angeles, saying the Marines at nearby Camp Pendleton were "on high alert." "There is plenty of room for peaceful protest, but ZERO tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job. The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE," Hegseth said in a social media post on Sunday, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Democratic Congresswoman Nanette Barragan, whose California district includes Paramount, on Sunday criticized the president's decision to deploy National Guard troops, arguing that local law enforcement has adequate resources to respond. "We don't need the help. This is him escalating it, causing tensions to rise. It's only going to make things worse in a situation where people are already angry over immigration enforcement," Barragan told CNN's "State of the Union." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the National Guard would provide safety around buildings, to people engaged in peaceful protest and to law enforcement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Los Angeles on Friday arrested at least 44 people on alleged immigration violations. Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the U.S.-Mexico border, setting a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 migrants per day. But the sweeping immigration crackdown has also included people legally residing in the country, some with permanent residence, and has led to legal challenges. (Reporting by Jorge Garcia and Arafat Barbakh; Additional reporting by Sandy Hooper in Los Angeles, Daniel Trotta and Bo Erickson in Washington; Writing by John Kruzel and Michelle Nichols; editing by Diane Craft)
New Straits Times
6 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Nato wants Zelenskyy's presence at summit, but does not want to anger Trump
Officials organising a Nato summit in The Hague this month are expected to keep it short, restrict discussion of Ukraine and choreograph meetings so that Volodymyr Zelenskyy can somehow be in town without provoking Donald Trump. Though the Ukrainian president is widely expected to attend the summit in some form, Nato has yet to confirm whether he is actually invited. Diplomats say he may attend a pre-summit dinner but be kept away from the main summit meeting. Whether the brief summit statement will even identify Russia as a threat or express support for Ukraine is still up in the air. The careful steps are all being taken to avoid angering Washington, much less provoking any repeat of February's White House blow-up between Trump and Zelenskyy that almost torpedoed the international coalition supporting Kyiv. Nato's European members, who see Russia as an existential threat and Nato as the principal means of countering it, want to signal their continued strong support for Ukraine. But they are also desperate to avoid upsetting a volatile Trump, who stunned them at a summit seven years ago by threatening to quit the alliance altogether. If Zelenskyy does not attend in some form, it would be "at least a PR disaster", acknowledged a senior Nato diplomat. Since Russia's invasion three years ago, Zelenskyy has regularly attended Nato summits as the guest of honour, where alliance members pledged billions in weapons and condemned Russia for an illegal war of conquest. Leaders repeatedly promised that Ukraine would one day join Nato. But since Washington's shift under Trump towards partly accepting Russia's justifications for the war and disparaging Zelenskyy, the 32-member alliance no longer speaks with a single voice about Europe's deadliest conflict since World War 2. Trump has taken Ukraine's Nato membership off the table, unilaterally granting Moscow one of its main demands. After dressing down Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in February, Trump cut vital US military and intelligence support for Ukraine for days. Since then, the two men have publicly mended fences but mostly spoken remotely, with Zelenskyy twice phoning the White House on speakerphone while surrounded by four friendly Europeans — Britain's Keir Starmer, France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz and Poland's Donald Tusk. Trump is expected to come away from The Hague with a big diplomatic victory as Nato members heed his longstanding complaints that they do not spend enough on defence and agree a much higher target. They are expected to boost their goal for traditional military spending to 3.5 per cent of economic output from 2.0 per cent. A further pledge to spend 1.5 per cent on related expenses such as infrastructure and cyberdefence would raise the total to 5.0 per cent demanded by Trump. But the summit itself and its accompanying written statement are expected to be unusually short, minimising the chances of flare-ups or disagreements. A pledge to develop recommendations for a new Russia strategy has been kicked into the long grass. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy may have to be content with an invitation to a pre-summit dinner, hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander, diplomats say. Unlike at Nato's previous two annual summits, the leaders do not plan to hold a formal meeting of the Nato-Ukraine Council, the official venue for talks between the alliance and Kyiv. On Wednesday, Nato boss Mark Rutte said he had invited Ukraine to the summit, but sidestepped a question on whether the invitation included Zelenskyy himself. Some European countries are still willing to say in public that they hope to see Zelenskyy invited as the head of the Ukrainian delegation. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said he would like to see a "delegation led by President Zelenskyy". Asked about an invitation for Zelenskyy, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said "I, for my part, strongly welcome the invitation" without giving further details. But diplomats have tried to play down the importance of the formal status of Zelenskyy's role. A senior European diplomat said, "We should not get stuck on 'NUC or no NUC'. If he comes to the leaders' dinner, that would be the minimum".
