Bessent declines to say which nations are close to tariff deals with US
Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) pressed Bessent as he testified before the House Financial Services Committee about his recent remarks indicating the U.S. could announce trade deals with some partners as soon as this week.
'So tell us, tell the American people, tell small businesses and consumers, tell retirees specifically, which countries are you close to striking deals with?' Velázquez asked Bessent during the hearing.
Bessent insisted that doing so 'would not benefit the United States' and 'that it would be detrimental to the interest of the United States for me to answer that question.'
Bessent said answering the question could compromise ongoing negotiations, noting that talks 'may still be in process.'
'I'm happy to say there are negotiations going on. I'm not going to reveal the details,' he said.
Velázquez then asked Bessent how long he thinks the negotiations will take before they are concluded.
Bessent reiterated comments he made previously about there being '18 important trading partners' and that the administration is 'moving forward at all deliberate speed with those.' He also said he considered some of the negotiations to be 'quite advanced.'
'I believe that they will be the agreements in principle, and then we will paper them over in the coming months, but once we reach an agreement that I am sure that the other countries will live up to,' he said.
Bessent also said he and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are set to meet with Chinese officials in Switzerland later this week to begin negotiations amid an ongoing trade war between both nations.
'I will be going to Switzerland, and the negotiations will begin on Saturday,' he said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
21 minutes ago
- The Hill
Ford posts first quarterly loss in two years after $800 million tariff hit
Automotive giant Ford posted its first quarterly loss in two years on Wednesday after seeing $800 billion in tariff costs. Ford reported $50.2 billion in second-quarter revenue, a 5 percent increase from the second quarter of last year. The Dearborn, Mich., company reported a net loss of $36 million, stemming from 'special charges related to a field service action and expenses related to a previously announced cancellation of an electric vehicle program.' Costs related to tariffs will run the company around $2 billion in annual earnings. Ford's top executives are in touch with the White House to tamp down tariffs on steel and aluminum. They've made it clear that Ford as the most American automaker should not be disadvantaged,' Ford's CFO Sherry House said on Wednesday, according to The Wall Street Journal. 'We are optimistic.' President Trump slapped a 25 percent tariff on imported automobiles and parts in April. Since then, he has adjusted portions of the auto tariffs and reached a deal with the European Union, including a 15 percent tariff on cars. 'We recorded our fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year cost improvement, excluding the impact of tariffs, building on progress we made last year when we closed roughly $1.5 billion of our competitive cost gap in material cost,' House said. Ford manufactures most of its vehicles in the U.S. The company has raised prices in May on three of its models produced in Mexico due to, in part, the impact of Trump's tariffs. Ford reported having $28.4 billion in cash and $46.6 billion in liquidity at the end of the quarter.
Miami Herald
21 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Federal judge postpones termination of TPS for Nicaragua, Honduras and Nepal
A California federal judge has ruled to postpone the termination of Temporary Protected Status for approximately 61,000 immigrants from Nicaragua, Honduras and Nepal, many of whom have been living in the United States for decades. The Trump administration in June had terminated the TPS status for Nepal and in July for Honduras and Nicaragua, saying the conditions in those countries no longer support the designation for deportation protection. The administration, in its efforts to revamp the program and align it with its mass deportation policy, had terminated the status for countries like Cameroon, Afghanistan and Venezuela, emphasizing TPS was meant to be temporary, not long-term. The National TPS Alliance and seven TPS holders challenged the decision in a lawsuit in July, arguing that the administration failed to conduct a full review of current conditions in those countries and that the 60-day timeline provided for the termination is unlawful. With the termination dates fast approaching, they had requested that the judge postpone the effective dates until the court makes a final judgment on whether the administration's decisions to terminate were lawful. U.S. District Judge Trini L. Thompson's ruling on Thursday means the temporary protection status for Nepal, which was set to end on Aug. 5, and for Honduras and Nicaragua on Sept. 6, will remain in place and be extended to Nov. 18, the next scheduled hearing on the case. 'The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek. Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood. The Court disagrees,' Thompson said in her ruling. TPS grants humanitarian relief, such as deportation protection and work permits, to people from countries experiencing political turmoil or natural disasters. Nicaragua and Honduras were given the status in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch caused extensive destruction in the countries. The designation had continually been extended until the first Trump administration decided to terminate it. That decision was also challenged in a lawsuit, and the first Trump administration chose not to enforce the termination. The extension continued until the decision by the second Trump administration to terminate the status. Nepal, the other country in the lawsuit, was designated for TPS status in 2015 after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake caused massive destruction and displaced millions. In its response to the lawsuit, the Trump administration argued the court did not have jurisdiction in reviewing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's determination to terminate TPS for the three countries. The administration also cited national security concerns. The judge asked the administration to clarify why those covered under TPS would be national security concerns when they had been living in the U.S. for a significant period. The administration emphasized it had reviewed the conditions of those countries and it was safe for TPS recipients to return. And it argued that the influx of migrants coming through the southern border over the past four years had strained resources that would have been used for proper vetting of those coming into the country. The administration, in its response, did not clarify how that risk related to those who had already been the U.S. for decades. 'Indeed, not all TPS beneficiaries are security concerns. However, aliens can be a security concern and be present in the United States,' the administration stated its responses to Thompson's question. In her decision, the judge also pointed out that the Department of Homeland Security was not responsive to the argument presented by the National TPS Alliance that barring court reviews of TPS decisions would allow the Trump administration to use TPS as a lever for negotiations with other countries. 'The Court shares this concern and does not forget that this country has bartered with human lives. Nor does the Court shut its eyes to the country's shifting attitudes towards immigrants,' the ruling said, agreeing with the National TPS Alliance that the decision to terminate the TPS designation was not entirely based on the respective country's conditions. Harold Rocha, president of the Nicaraguan American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, had been optimistically awaiting the judge's decision. His organization had printed our summaries of the case in Spanish and English and distributed them to its members earlier this week in anticipation of the decision. 'Judge Thompson's order to postpone provides temporary relief for the close to 60,000 beneficiaries from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Legal reasoning suggests there's a likelihood plaintiffs will succeed on the merits, and that is also a source of encouragement for a vulnerable group,' Rocha said. The ruling by Thomson to postpone the TPS termination date comes almost a month after a federal judge in New York ruled in favor of Haitians with temporary status, finding that Noem exceeded her authority when she shortened the 18-month extension granted under the Biden administration. In that case, the administration had made similar arguments that conditions in Haiti had improved, and terminating that status was in the national interest of the United States. The Trump administration could appeal Thursday's decision. It does, however, bring some solace for many Nicaraguans in South Florida, many of whom live in Sweetwater in Miami-Dade County and is sometimes referred to as 'Little Managua.'
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
White House insider slips up, reveals secret Social Security plan
Social Security is one of the most popular entitlement programs in America, as it's kept millions of seniors out of poverty. Since every worker has paid into the system, future retirees expect to get the benefits they have been paying for during their entire working life – although many also fear that they won't get those benefits due to ongoing concerns about the program's finances. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Since Social Security has been so popular, President Trump broke from traditional Republican orthodoxy, which had long seen major politicians on the right calling for reforms and even making efforts to privatize Social Security. President Trump has promised over and over on the campaign trail to protect Social Security and has sworn he will not cut benefits. Unfortunately, a White House insider slipped up recently and let the cat out of the bag that there may be a secret plan in the works to privatize Social Security. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made the troubling comments on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at a forum hosted by Breitbart News. While the Treasury Secretary has since tried to walk back his statements, the fact remains that Bessett may have simply revealed something that lawmakers were hoping would not come to light. Bessett's concerning comments about Social Security came as part of a discussion on the Trump Accounts, which are included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was signed into law on July 4, 2025. The Trump accounts will offer a $1,000 deposit from the Treasury for eligible children, and additional contributions can be made over time to the tune of a $5,000 post-tax contribution per year. The accounts are expected to have similar rules to an IRA, and the children they are created for will be able to begin making withdrawals as adults. Related: Warren Buffett's blunt Social Security warning is becoming reality When Bessett was discussing the accounts, however, he made a statement that suggested the accounts are not as innocent as they seem. "In a way, it is a back door for privatizing Social Security," Bessent said while speaking about the new savings account program. This statement was in stark contrast to the repeated promises made by President Trump on the campaign trail to leave Social Security alone for future generations. Democratic lawmakers pounced on the comments that Bessett made, immediately sounding the alarm and warning the public that the Treasury Secretary may have let a secret slip that the White House did not want to get out. "Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent just said the quiet part out loud: The administration is scheming to privatize Social Security," said Tim Hogan, a spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee. Related: Social Security's 2026 COLA will be good news for older Americans Hogan went on to comment, "It wasn't enough to kick millions of people off their health care and take food away from hungry kids. Trump is now coming after American seniors with a 'backdoor' scam to take away the benefits they earned." Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also criticized the comments, stating in a Senate Speech: "A stunning admission. Bessent actually slipped, told the truth: Donald Trump and the government want to privatize Social Security." Bessett responded to the criticism and the concern on a post on X, stating, "This is not an either-or question: our Administration is committed to protecting Social Security and to making sure seniors have more money." More on retirement: Dave Ramsey offers urgent thoughts about MedicareJean Chatzky shares major statement on Social SecurityTony Robbins has blunt words on IRAs,401(k)s Of course, after-the-fact denials about a candid statement made hours ago may not provide quite the level of comfort that Americans who are counting on their future Social Security benefits are hoping for. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
