US says it won’t rush trade deals ahead of August deadline, will engage China

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is prioritising the quality of trade agreements over meeting a looming deadline, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday (Jul 21), as countries scramble to avoid steep new tariffs set to take effect on Aug 1.

“We’re not going to rush for the sake of doing deals,” Bessent told CNBC. Asked whether the deadline could be extended for countries engaged in talks, he said it would be up to President Donald Trump.

“If we somehow boomerang back to the Aug 1 tariff, I would think that a higher tariff level will put more pressure on those countries to come with better agreements,” he said.

Trump has roiled global markets with sweeping tariff threats targeting most major US trading partners. But his administration has fallen short of securing deals with many countries, including India, the European Union and Japan, where negotiations have proven more difficult than anticipated.

WHITE HOUSE, EU RESPONSE

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump may raise trade during talks with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the White House on Tuesday.

She said the US remained engaged with governments globally and could announce new deals or issue more tariff notifications before the deadline, but offered no further details.

Meanwhile, European Union diplomats said the bloc was considering broader counter-measures amid dimming prospects for a deal. Germany and other EU countries are weighing the use of “anti-coercion” tools that could restrict US access to public tenders or target services.

“The negotiations over the level of tariffs are currently very intense,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “The Americans are quite clearly not willing to agree to a symmetrical tariff arrangement.”

CHINA TALKS, JAPAN AND INDIA

On China, Bessent said talks would resume “in the very near future”.

“Trade is in a good place,” he said, adding that future discussions could focus on Beijing’s continued purchases of sanctioned Iranian and Russian oil, and its excess capacity in sectors such as steel. “The elephant in the room is this great rebalancing that the Chinese need to do.”

Bessent also said he would encourage Europe to follow the US if it implements secondary tariffs on Russia.

Japan’s top trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa arrived in Washington on Monday for his eighth visit in three months. His trip comes after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling coalition suffered a setback in upper house elections, in part due to voter frustration over US tariffs.

Bessent, who returned from a visit to Japan on Sunday, said Washington was focused on securing the best deal for Americans, not Japan’s domestic political dynamics.

Indian trade negotiators have returned to New Delhi after nearly a week of talks in Washington. Government sources said hopes were fading for an interim deal before the Aug 1 deadline.