US Treasury Secretary hints at more trade deals ahead of July 9 deadline for tariff hike

New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) United States' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday said that Washington is close to reaching agreements on several trade deals as "a lot of proposals" have poured in from various countries at the last minute.

His comments hint at several big trade deal announcements by the Donald Trump administration just ahead of the July 9 tariff pause deadline.

"So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals…It’s going to be a busy couple of days," Bessent told CNBC.

"President Trump's going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that, if you don't move things along, then on August 1, you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level. So I think we're going to see a lot of deals very quickly," he said, according to media reports.

Trump has announced that the US administration will start sending letters informing trading partners of their tariff rates as soon as Friday, even as negotiations with various countries, including India, to avoid higher US levies have stretched into the last lap.

"I’d rather just do a simple deal where you can maintain it and control it. You’re going to pay a 20 per cent or 30 per cent tariff, and we’re going to be sending some letters out, starting probably tomorrow, maybe 10 a day, to various countries, saying what they’re going to pay to do business with the US," the President added.

Trump has announced a number of trade deals, including with Vietnam and China. He had stated last month that the US and India "may sign an agreement that will open up India for US goods".

India’s high-level official delegation, led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, has returned from Washington after the trade talks with US officials without reaching a final agreement on the sensitive issue of trade in agricultural and dairy products that the US is pushing for.

However, there is still a glimmer of hope that an interim bilateral trade agreement may be reached at the highest political level in the two countries before the July 9 deadline for the 26 per cent hike in US tariffs on Indian exports to kick in.

The Indian team was in Washington for negotiations on an interim trade agreement with the US from June 26 to July 2.

The US is seeking broader market access for its agricultural and dairy products, which is a major hurdle, as for India, this is a livelihood issue of the country’s small farmers and hence is considered a sensitive area.

While India is looking to secure an exemption from President Trump's 26 per cent tariffs by concluding an interim deal before July 9, it is also pushing for significant tariff concessions for its labour-intensive exports such as textiles, leather, and footwear.

--IANS

sps/vd