US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
Credit: Reuters Photo
Washington: About 100 countries are likely to see a reciprocal tariff rate of 10 per cent, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday, adding that he expects "a flurry" of trade deals announced before a July 9 deadline that could see tariff rates increase sharply.
"We'll see how the President wants to treat those who are negotiating, whether he's happy that they're negotiating in good faith," Bessent told Bloomberg Television. "I think that we're going to see about 100 countries who just get the minimum 10 per cent reciprocal tariff and will go from there. So I think we're going to see a lot of action over the coming days," Bessent said.
The Trump administration is negotiating with more than a dozen trading partners to try to reach tariff-reducing agreements ahead of the deadline, including India, Japan and the European Union.
Trump on Wednesday announced an agreement with Vietnam that cuts U.S. tariffs on many Vietnamese goods to 20 per cent from his previously threatened 46 per cent, with many US products entering Vietnam duty free.