US could announce some trade deals ‘this week’ | Australian Markets

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the federal government could announce trade agreements with some of the United States’ largest trade companions as early as this week.

He mentioned US President Donald Trump’s administration was negotiating with 17 main trading companions however had not but engaged with China, the world’s second-largest financial system after the United States.

He mentioned many trading companions have made superb provides and US officers had been within the course of of “re-negotiating” these now.

“I expect that we can see a substantial reduction of the tariffs that we are being charged as well as non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation and subsidies, both labour and capital investment,” he instructed the House Appropriations Committee.

Trump and his high officers have engaged in a flurry of conferences with trading companions because the president on April 2 imposed a 10 per cent tariff on most nations together with larger tariff charges for a lot of trading companions that had been then suspended for 90 days.

In the final administration, American staff had been forged apart as the mandatory collateral harm on this unfettered “free trade.”This administration is aiming for truthful trade to convey back high-paying, precision manufacturing jobs to the United States. pic.twitter.com/NTKz37IODz— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) May 6, 2025

The US president has additionally imposed 25 per cent tariffs on vehicles, metal and aluminium, 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 145 per cent tariffs on China.

China responded by boosting its tariffs on US items to 125 per cent.

A high European Union official on Tuesday mentioned the 27-member bloc was readying countermeasures if no trade deal was reached with the US, including that it was being contacted by different nations in search of to forge nearer trade ties with the EU.

Bessent mentioned about 97 per cent or 98 per cent of the US trade deficit was with about 15 nations, most of which had been main trading companions, and discussions had been continuing properly with many.

“I would be surprised if we don’t have more than 80 or 90 per cent of those wrapped by the end of the year, and that may be much sooner,” he mentioned.

“I would think that perhaps as early as this week we will be announcing trade deals with some of our largest trading partners.”

Administration officers have urged that India and Japan could be the primary nations to signal a trade settlement to decrease the tariff charges Trump has threatened.

Trump instructed the NewsNation tv community final week that he had “potential” trade deals with India, South Korea and Japan.