Scott Bessent, the Minister of the Treasury leading trade negotiations in the United States, warned on the 18th (local time) that countries that do not engage sincerely in negotiations with the United States will once again bear high tariffs.
Minister Bessent said in an NBC News interview that President Trump's statement about the 'tariff SEOHAN ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION' means that countries that do not negotiate in good faith will receive a letter stating, 'This is the tariff rate.' So I expect everyone to come and negotiate in good faith.
He stated, 'This is the negotiation leverage that President Trump is talking about. If you don't want to negotiate, tariffs will return to the level of April 2.' Previously, on the 16th, President Trump said at an event held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 'Within the next 2-3 weeks, a letter will be sent to countries informing them of what Scott (Bessent, Minister of the Treasury) and Howard (Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce) will need to pay to conduct business in the United States.'
When asked in a CNN interview how many countries he expected to announce trade agreements, Minister Bessent replied, 'That depends on whether countries negotiate in good faith.'
He continued, 'And there are many smaller trade relationships where we can just present numbers for tariffs. My feeling is that we will do a lot of regional negotiations. (For example) this is the tariff rate for Central America. This is the tariff rate for this part of Africa. However, what we are focusing on right now are 18 important trade relationships.'
Summarizing Minister Bessent's statements, it can be interpreted that while the United States will negotiate individually with the 18 countries that have the largest trade volumes, the rest will have their tariff rates set not on a country-by-country basis but on a regional basis, as negotiating with every country individually would require too much time and manpower.
Minister Bessent said, 'There are some exceptions, but countries are bringing us very good proposals,' and added, 'Countries want to lower their tariffs toward the United States and want to reduce non-tariff barriers.'
He commented on the downgrade of the nation's credit rating by the international credit rating agency Moody's, saying, 'By the time credit rating agencies downgrade a rating, everything is already reflected in the market,' and added that he does not trust Moody's very much. He then explained that he would address the liability issue by reducing government expenditure and promoting economic growth.