Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday on Capitol Hill that new trade deals with major partners could be announced as soon as this week.
“Many of our trading partners have approached us with very good offers, and we are in the process of renegotiating those,” Bessent said, noting that the US is currently in talks with 17 of its 18 key trading partners, with China as the exception.
“I’d be surprised if we don’t have more than 80% or 90% of those wrapped up by the end of the year, and that may be much sooner than I would think. Perhaps as early as this week we will be announcing trade deals with some of our largest trading partners,” he added. “They have come to us with very good offers.”
The Treasury secretary said he expects a “substantial reduction” in tariffs on US goods, along with the removal of non-tariff barriers, curbs on currency manipulation, and limits on subsidies for labor and capital investment.
Bessent emphasized that trade is one pillar of a broader economic agenda he described as a “three-legged stool” of trade, tax reform, and deregulation. Overall, he said trade negotiations are progressing rapidly, with the House expected to send its portion of the trade bill to the Senate around Memorial Day, according to Speaker Johnson.
Deregulation, he added, will take longer to influence the economy, but he anticipates seeing meaningful benefits in the third and fourth quarters of this year and potentially in full effect compared to the same time last year.
