Tariffs will revert back to their April 2 rates on Aug. 1 for countries that fail to nail down new trade deals with the United States, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday, just three days before the Trump administration’s initial July 9 deadline for tariffs to return.
Bessent told CNN’s “State of the Union” that the Trump administration would be sending out letters to 100 smaller countries “saying that if you don’t move things along, then on August 1st, you will boomerang back to your April 2nd tariff level.”
The announcement effectively pushes back the tariffs that were originally set to return on April 2 but had been suspended until July 9, a window the Trump administration used to pursue an ambitious round of dealmaking with other countries aimed at reaching deals to stave off the return of tariffs of between 10 and 50 percent on dozens of countries. It comes as Trump administration officials increasingly hint at difficulties in nailing down deals.
In the interview, Bessent said that the August target is “not a new deadline” for negotiations. “We are saying this is when it’s happening. If you want to speed things up, have at it. If you want to go back to the old rate, that’s your choice,” Bessent said.
Since announcing sweeping so-called reciprocal tariffs, the Trump administration has only signed agreements with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, as well as a limited deal with China that saw both countries walk back sky-high tit-for-tat tariff rates temporarily. The U.S. is also reportedly close to reaching a deal with India, and the European Union, which Trump once accused of slow-walking negotiations, appears willing to make significant concessions for a deal.
“There’s a lot of congestion going into the home stretch,” Bessent said in a separate interview with “Fox News Sunday.”
“As part of the trade team, what’s great about having President Trump on side is, he’s created maximum leverage. So, by telling our trading partners that they could boomerang back to the April 2nd date, I think it’s really going to move things along the next couple of days and weeks.”
Trump told reporters Friday that letters could be sent to a dozen countries as soon as Monday, with tariff rates ranging from ’60 or 70 percent to 10 or 20 percent.’ He said the fees would take effect Aug. 1, while again falsely claiming that foreign countries pay the tariffs — which are actually paid by U.S. importers.
