WASHINGTON - The Trump administration on April 2 will give trading partners a proposed US tariff rate based on their own rates, non-tariff trade barriers and other factors — along with an opportunity to negotiate to avoid a “tariff wall”, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday.
“On April 2, each country will receive a number that we believe represents their tariffs,” Bessent told Fox Business Network. “For some countries, it could be quite low, for some countries, it could be quite high.”
Trump has said that his “reciprocal tariffs” to bring US tariffs to other countries’ levels and offset trade practices his administration deems unfair will take effect on April 2. But Bessent’s comments indicate that there may be a period of negotiation before collection of new import duties begins.
“We are going to go to them and say, ‘Look, here’s where we think the tariff levels are, non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation, unfair funding, labour suppression, and if you will stop this, we will not put up the tariff wall,’” Bessent said of trading partners.
Countries that fail to reduce their trade barriers will face steeper tariffs aimed at protecting the US economy, its workers and industries, he said.
He expressed optimism that on April 2, some duties “may not have to go on because a deal is pre-negotiated” or because countries swiftly approach Washington for talks once they receive their number.
‘No reason’ for recession
Bessent also told Fox Business that he saw “no reason we need to have a recession” in the world’s biggest economy, saying “the underlying economy is healthy”.
But he dismissed the premise of guaranteeing there will not be a downturn.
He raised the idea of “a pause” as officials transition from an “unsustainable” level of government spending, saying that the Trump administration would rein in expenditures and bring manufacturing home.
Trump’s tariff plans and the uncertainty surrounding them have shaken markets in recent times, fanning fears that an economic ebb could be in the cards.
The president has referred to tariffs as a way to raise revenue, remedy trade imbalances and pressure countries to act on US concerns.
On Tuesday, Bessent stressed that Trump has identified “critical industries” — like steel and aluminium among manufacturing sectors — for which he hopes to bring production back to the United States.
He added that “we’re going to take in substantial revenues”, pointing to these as a means to offset the government deficit.
Economists note that while tariffs raise revenue for the government, they also shift demand towards domestic industries that make the protected goods.
They caution that this does not always mean a net expansion of demand.