“They all want to make a deal,” Trump said. “But they’ll be fair deals. They’ll never be ripping deals.”
The Trump administration has spoken to at least 90 countries to negotiate trade deals after the president recently imposed a drastic baseline and mutual tariffs, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on April 23.
At the executive order signing ceremony at the Oval Office, President Donald Trump asked Lutnick how many countries reached out to mediate trade deals. The secretary said 90 US trading partners had contacted the administration so far.
“They all want to make a deal,” the president said. “But they’re going to be fair deals. They’re not going to be rip-off deals.”
Trump told reporters that the administration would set rates in countries that have not reached the deal.
“If we don’t have any business with companies or countries, we’re going to set up tariffs,” the president said. “I’m going to say, ‘Over the next few weeks.’
When asked whether the plan would apply to China, Trump said he might have a “special deal” with Beijing.
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“We’re dealing with a lot of countries now and we could be with China, but maybe we’ll have a special deal. We’ll see what it is,” he said, adding that his administration is in contact with China “everyday.”
During a press conference Tuesday, White House spokesman Caroline Leavitt said the administration is discussing trade deals with 34 countries this week, with 18 proposals already on paper.
“Not at all,” Bescent said when asked if Trump would unilaterally lower China’s tariffs. Bescent was asked about the tariff war with China after his keynote address at an international financial event in Washington.
“I don’t think either side believes the current tariff levels are sustainable, as I have said many times, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they fell over each other,” he added.
The White House also denied reports that Trump is considering a significant reduction in tariffs on Chinese imports.
“President Trump was clear. China needs to do business with the United States,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told the Epoch Times. “When a tariff decision is made, they will come directly from the president. The rest is pure speculation.”
The president’s tariffs rose to 145% on Chinese imports after initially imposing Beijing’s tariffs earlier this year to pressure the administration to curb China’s fentanyl precursor exports. China retaliated by imposing a 125% tariff on US imports, including other measures.
The president suspended target tariffs on dozens of US trading partners until July 9th, negotiating the deal. Additional target tariffs are also available for products such as steel, aluminum, automobiles and semiconductors.
Emel Akan contributed to this report.
