Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that implementing a “higher tariff level” on countries would put more “pressure on those countries to come with better agreements.” “The important thing” with President Donald Trump’s trade negotiations, “is the quality of the deal, not the timing of the deals,” he told CNBC. Trump has postponed his country-specific tariff deadline three times since his April “Liberation Day” announcement. Scott Bessent, US treasury secretary, during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York, US, on Friday, May 23, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that implementing high tariff rates on countries starting August 1 “will put more pressure on those countries to come with better agreements.”
Bessent’s remarks suggest that he views President Donald Trump’s planned massive tariffs on top trading partners — which have