U.S. to restore higher “reciprocal” tariffs if trade deals aren’t reached, Bessent warns

The United States will restore steep “reciprocal” tariffs if trading partners do not reach new agreements within a 90-day freeze, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday, signaling fresh pressure from President Donald Trump on foreign capitals.

Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper, Bessent said the administration has “put them on notice” that duties will “ratchet back up to your April 2 level” if talks fail. Eighteen “important” partners are the main focus, he added, though he did not give a timetable for how fast higher rates could return.

Bessent suggested some pacts may be regional, saying officials could set one common figure “for Central America” or “for this part of Africa” while smaller bilateral ties might simply receive a fixed number.

The 90-day clock began after Trump ordered a temporary pull-back from the sweeping tariffs he rolled out on April 2, a day the president labeled “Liberation Day.” That order had imposed “reciprocal” duties but was later softened to a baseline 10% while talks proceeded.

On Friday, during a business roundtable in Abu Dhabi, Trump warned that “time is running out.”

More than 150 countries want to talk, he said, but the administration cannot meet with all of them. Within “two to three weeks,” Trump added, Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick would start sending letters that spell out “what they’ll be paying to do business in the United States.” He promised the process would be “very fair.”

Stocks jumped on Monday after Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer disclosed in Geneva a temporary cooling of the trade fight with China. Washington cut tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% from 145%, while Beijing trimmed its duties on American products to 10% from 125%. The S&P 500 rallied 5.3 percent last week, logging five straight days of gains.

U.S leans on ‘strategic uncertainty’ to secure better deals

The constant back-and-forth in tariff levels has left U.S. businesses on edge. Commenting on the sudden shift in rates, Bessent described the White House approach as “strategic uncertainty.” Providing too much certainty, he argued, would let other countries “play us in the negotiations.” He predicted that when bargaining ends, “retailers, the American people and the American workers will be better off.”

Small businesses that rely on Chinese inputs voice concern that rising costs and unclear rules disturb investment plans.

Bessent told CNN he expects trade in the kinds of goods those firms need will continue “at lower tariff levels,” though many owners fear they will have to keep raising prices to protect profit margins.

Bessent confirms Walmart will pay some tariffs while charging shoppers for the rest

Walmart recently told customers that prices could rise.  On Saturday, the president replied on Truth Social, urging the chain to “eat the tariffs.”

Bessent said he spoke directly with Walmart chief executive Doug McMillon the same day. “Walmart will be absorbing some of the tariffs,” the secretary said, adding that “some may get passed on to consumers.”

Moreover, rating agency Moody’s on Friday cut the U.S. sovereign rating one notch to Aa1, erasing the last triple-A badge the country held.

Fitch lowered its grade in 2023, and S&P did so in 2011. Moody’s pointed to America’s $36 trillion debt and political deadlock over a White House budget plan that the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates would add $3.3 trillion more over the next decade.

Bessent downplayed the downgrade. “I do not put much credence in the Moody’s,” he told CNN. Still, a lower rating could make investors demand higher yields on Treasuries, pushing up borrowing costs that influence everything from home mortgages to contracts around the world.

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