The US Treasury Secretary: Agreements with more countries are expected before th
Mr. Bescent, the US Treasury secretary, said more countries were expected to reach trade deals with the US before the 90-day suspension period for "reciprocal tariffs" ended. "These deals are moving very quickly and I think you're going to see more and more deals being announced as the 90-day suspension nears the end," Mr. Bescent said on Friday. "A lot of Asian countries are coming up with very good terms." Mr. Bescent said most US trading partners had been negotiating "in good faith", with the exception of the European Union. Earlier in the day, Mr. Trump threatened to impose 50 per cent tariffs on European Union goods from June 1 if talks with the European Union continued unsuccessfully, saying "we are making no progress with them". "I think this statement from the president is a response to the slow progress of the European Union," Mr. Bessant said. "I hope to put pressure on the European Union."