‘Not going to rush': Ahead of Trump's tariff deadline, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shares update; says ‘more concerned about…'
In an interview with CNBC, Bessent stated, 'The Trump administration is more concerned with the quality of trade agreements rather than their timing. We're not going to rush for the sake of doing deals.' The remarks come ahead of the August 1 deadline, when tariffs on several US trade partners could kick in if talks fail to yield progress, according to an ET report.
While describing the ongoing negotiations as 'moving along,' Bessent warned that failure to reach agreements could escalate trade tensions.
'If we boomerang on August 1 tariffs, higher tariffs could put more pressure on countries,' he said.
Allies under pressure as US sticks to its terms
Bessent pointed to growing engagement from the European Union, noting, 'They've become more engaged,' and said he expects Brussels may aim to speed up negotiations. 'I imagine they would want to negotiate faster,' he added.
On Japan, Bessent clarified that Washington's focus remains firmly on securing the best outcomes for the US, not adapting to domestic political calendars in partner countries.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around
Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List
Undo
'Our priorities are not internal government but best deals for U.S.,' he said.
Despite the approaching deadline, Bessent expressed confidence in the ongoing discussions. 'Trade is in a good place,' he said.
Russia tariffs tied to political goals
Touching on Russia, Bessent acknowledged that tariff measures can go beyond trade. 'Tariffs can be a means to political ends,' he said, referring to current conversations around sanctions.
He also hinted at a possible joint strategy with allies, saying, 'Would urge Europe to follow us if we implement secondary tariffs,' without naming affected sectors or timelines.
China discussions may restart, focus on overcapacity and oil
On China, Bessent said talks could resume 'in the near future,' but flagged overcapacity as the primary concern. 'The elephant in the room with China is overcapacity,' he said, mentioning steel and solar as key pressure points.
He also pointed to two new areas of concern that may enter future negotiations—Beijing's trade ties with Russia and its stance on Iranian oil. 'Could start talking about Iranian oil,' Bessent said, while adding that the US 'could discuss [China's] trade with Russia' as part of broader diplomatic talks.
Stay informed with the latest
business
news, updates on
bank holidays
and
public holidays
.
AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
25 minutes ago
- Economic Times
U.S EU Trade deal: Who wins after tariff agreement - Donald Trump or Europe?
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads FAQs U.S EU Trade deal agreement has finally been chalked. In the end, Europe found it lacked the leverage to pull Donald Trump 's America into a trade pact on its terms and so has signed up to a deal it can just about stomach - albeit one that is clearly skewed in the U.S.'s favour. As such, Sunday's agreement on a blanket 15 per cent tariff after a months-long stand-off is a reality check on the aspirations of the 27-country European Union to become an economic power able to stand up to the likes of the United States or has long portrayed itself as an export superpower and champion of rules-based commerce for the benefit both of its own soft power and the global economy as a whole. For sure, the new tariff that will now be applied is a lot more digestible than the 30% "reciprocal" tariff which Trump threatened to invoke in a few it should ensure Europe avoids recession, it will likely keep its economy in the doldrums: it sits somewhere between two tariff scenarios the European Central Bank last month forecast would mean 0.5-0.9 per cent economic growth this year compared to just over 1% in a trade tension-free this is nonetheless a landing point that would have been scarcely imaginable only months ago in the pre-Trump 2.0 era, when the EU along with much of the world could count on U.S. tariffs averaging out at around 1.5%.Even when Britain agreed a baseline tariff of 10% with the United States back in May, EU officials were adamant they could do better and - convinced the bloc had the economic heft to square up to Trump - pushed for a "zero-for-zero" tariff took a few weeks of fruitless talks with their U.S. counterparts for the Europeans to accept that 10% was the best they could get and a few weeks more to take the same 15% baseline which the United States agreed with Japan last week."The EU does not have more leverage than the U.S., and the Trump administration is not rushing things," said one senior official in a European capital who was being briefed on last week's negotiations as they closed in around the 15% official and others pointed to the pressure from Europe's export-oriented businesses to clinch a deal and so ease the levels of uncertainty starting to hit businesses from Finland's Nokia to Swedish steelmaker SSAB ."We were dealt a bad hand. This deal is the best possible play under the circumstances," said one EU diplomat. "Recent months have clearly shown how damaging uncertainty in global trade is for European businesses."That imbalance - or what the trade negotiators have been calling "asymmetry" - is manifest in the final only is it expected that the EU will now call off any retaliation and remain open to U.S. goods on existing terms, but it has also pledged $600 billion of investment in the United States. The time-frame for that remains undefined, as do other details of the accord for talks unfolded, it became clear that the EU came to the conclusion it had more to lose from all-out retaliatory measures it threatened totalled some 93 billion euros - less than half its U.S. goods trade surplus of nearly 200 billion a growing number of EU capitals were also ready to envisage wide-ranging anti-coercion measures that would have allowed the bloc to target the services trade in which the United States had a surplus of some $75 billion last even then, there was no clear majority for targeting the U.S. digital services which European citizens enjoy and for which there are scant homegrown alternatives - from Netflix to Uber to Microsoft cloud remains to be seen whether this will encourage European leaders to accelerate the economic reforms and diversification of trading allies to which they have long paid lip service but which have been held back by national the deal as a painful compromise that was an "existential threat" for many of its members, Germany's BGA wholesale and export association said it was time for Europe to reduce its reliance on its biggest trading partner."Let's look on the past months as a wake-up call," said BGA President Dirk Jandura. "Europe must now prepare itself strategically for the future - we need new trade deals with the biggest industrial powers of the world."A1. President of USA is Donald Trump.A2. US is levying 15 per cent tariffs on Europe.
Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
HC dismisses petition for dependent pension under freedom fighter scheme
Hyderabad: Telangana high court has dismissed a writ petition seeking grant of arrears and dependent pension under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, 1980. The court ruled that no pension can be sanctioned after the death of a freedom fighter if it was not granted during their lifetime. Justice NV Shravan Kumar delivered the verdict while hearing a petition filed by the late freedom fighter More Rama Rao's daughter, More Vijaya Laxmi, from Warangal district. Vijaya Laxmi claimed that neither Rama Rao nor her mother, More Sushila, were granted freedom fighter's pension despite their applications. After their deaths, being unmarried and mentally ill, she applied for a family pension, which was still pending with the authorities. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad According to Vijaya Laxmi, her father was a freedom fighter who fought for the merger of the Nizam State into the Indian Union and applied for a pension in 1984. Around 20 years later, he got a response from the authorities asking him to submit relevant documents in April 2003. Even before his application was processed, he died in October 2003. Following this, Vijaya Laxmi's mother Sushila applied for the family pension. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2 & 3 BHK by the Lake, Off Old Madras Road Brigade Lakecrest Undo However, she also passed away in 2016 before her application was processed. Subsequently, Vijaya Laxmi, being the sole heir, applied for pension and submitted representations to the authorities on two occasions in Sept 2016. As the same was not considered, she approached the high court seeking relief. Justice NV Shravan Kumar noted that although Rao applied for the pension in 1984, it was never sanctioned during his lifetime. Subsequent applications by his wife and later the petitioner were not eligible under the revised scheme. The court also noted that Rao declared "no eligible dependents" in official records. Further, in view of the 2014 guidelines, the court ruled that "no lifetime arrears or dependent pension shall be sanctioned to the spouse or daughter after the death of the freedom fighter" if the pension was not already approved, and dismissed Vijaya Laxmi's petition.
Time of India
42 minutes ago
- Time of India
U.S EU Trade deal: Who wins after tariff agreement - Donald Trump or Europe?
U.S EU Trade deal agreement has finally been chalked. In the end, Europe found it lacked the leverage to pull Donald Trump 's America into a trade pact on its terms and so has signed up to a deal it can just about stomach - albeit one that is clearly skewed in the U.S.'s favour. As such, Sunday's agreement on a blanket 15 per cent tariff after a months-long stand-off is a reality check on the aspirations of the 27-country European Union to become an economic power able to stand up to the likes of the United States or China. U.S EU Trade Deal Face-saver for Europe? Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Finance Technology others Data Analytics Data Science PGDM MCA healthcare MBA Public Policy Product Management Leadership Healthcare Project Management Others Digital Marketing Design Thinking CXO Operations Management Management Cybersecurity Data Science Artificial Intelligence Degree Skills you'll gain: Duration: 9 Months IIM Calcutta SEPO - IIMC CFO India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Fintech & Blockchain India Starts on undefined Get Details EU has long portrayed itself as an export superpower and champion of rules-based commerce for the benefit both of its own soft power and the global economy as a whole. For sure, the new tariff that will now be applied is a lot more digestible than the 30% "reciprocal" tariff which Trump threatened to invoke in a few days. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Nazlat Alsman: Unsold Sofas Prices May Surprise You (Prices May Surprise You) Sofas | Search Ads Search Now Undo While it should ensure Europe avoids recession, it will likely keep its economy in the doldrums: it sits somewhere between two tariff scenarios the European Central Bank last month forecast would mean 0.5-0.9 per cent economic growth this year compared to just over 1% in a trade tension-free environment. But this is nonetheless a landing point that would have been scarcely imaginable only months ago in the pre-Trump 2.0 era, when the EU along with much of the world could count on U.S. tariffs averaging out at around 1.5%. Live Events Even when Britain agreed a baseline tariff of 10% with the United States back in May, EU officials were adamant they could do better and - convinced the bloc had the economic heft to square up to Trump - pushed for a "zero-for-zero" tariff pact. It took a few weeks of fruitless talks with their U.S. counterparts for the Europeans to accept that 10% was the best they could get and a few weeks more to take the same 15% baseline which the United States agreed with Japan last week. "The EU does not have more leverage than the U.S., and the Trump administration is not rushing things," said one senior official in a European capital who was being briefed on last week's negotiations as they closed in around the 15% level. That official and others pointed to the pressure from Europe's export-oriented businesses to clinch a deal and so ease the levels of uncertainty starting to hit businesses from Finland's Nokia to Swedish steelmaker SSAB . "We were dealt a bad hand. This deal is the best possible play under the circumstances," said one EU diplomat. "Recent months have clearly shown how damaging uncertainty in global trade is for European businesses." Big Win for Donald Trump? That imbalance - or what the trade negotiators have been calling "asymmetry" - is manifest in the final deal. Not only is it expected that the EU will now call off any retaliation and remain open to U.S. goods on existing terms, but it has also pledged $600 billion of investment in the United States. The time-frame for that remains undefined, as do other details of the accord for now. As talks unfolded, it became clear that the EU came to the conclusion it had more to lose from all-out confrontation. The retaliatory measures it threatened totalled some 93 billion euros - less than half its U.S. goods trade surplus of nearly 200 billion euros. True, a growing number of EU capitals were also ready to envisage wide-ranging anti-coercion measures that would have allowed the bloc to target the services trade in which the United States had a surplus of some $75 billion last year. But even then, there was no clear majority for targeting the U.S. digital services which European citizens enjoy and for which there are scant homegrown alternatives - from Netflix to Uber to Microsoft cloud services. It remains to be seen whether this will encourage European leaders to accelerate the economic reforms and diversification of trading allies to which they have long paid lip service but which have been held back by national divisions. Describing the deal as a painful compromise that was an "existential threat" for many of its members, Germany's BGA wholesale and export association said it was time for Europe to reduce its reliance on its biggest trading partner. "Let's look on the past months as a wake-up call," said BGA President Dirk Jandura. "Europe must now prepare itself strategically for the future - we need new trade deals with the biggest industrial powers of the world." FAQs Q1. Who is President of USA? A1. President of USA is Donald Trump. Q2. How much tariffs USA is levying on Europe? A2. US is levying 15 per cent tariffs on Europe.
