The Treasury secretary said negotiations with some countries might last until Labor Day, signaling that the White House may hold back from imposing tariffs on some trading partners in early July.
Trump administration officials signaled this week that they might allow trade talks to extend beyond a July 8 deadline set by the president, as U.S. officials negotiate with over a dozen countries on trade terms.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview on Fox Business Friday morning that negotiations with trading partners could be “wrapped up by Labor Day,” adding that “nothing gets done in Washington well in advance.”
The United States has been negotiating with roughly 18 trading partners, including the European Union, Japan, Vietnam, India and Malaysia. Foreign governments have been trying to strike deals to avoid steep global tariffs, which President Trump first announced in April, but then paused for 90 days.
That pause is set to expire on July 8. Administration officials have not clarified whether they would extend the tariff deadline for all countries, or just some of them. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But as negotiations drag on, the administration has recently sought to downplay the significance of the quickly approaching deadline. Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, also said on Thursday that the July deadline was “not critical.”
“With all things, they get done at the end,” Mr. Bessent said on the Fox Business Network, adding that progress is being made on about a dozen additional trade deals beyond China and Britain. “I think we can have trade wrapped up by Labor Day.”
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