Tariffs will revert to April levels if countries don't make a deal by August 1, Bessent says

Tariffs will reset to President Donald Trump's original April levels if countries do not strike a new deal with the U.S. by August 1, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday.

Bessent made the announcement during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," telling host Shannon Bream that several trade deals are in the "home stretch."

"Is it fair to say there's a bit of a pause on the July 9th deadline for some of these trading partners?" Bream asked.

"I don't think it's a bit of a pause because I think what's happened is there's a lot of congestion going into the home stretch and, as a part of the trade team, what's great about having President Trump on our side is he's created maximum leverage," Bessent said.

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"By telling our trading partners that they could boomerang back to the April 2nd date, I think it's really going to move things along over the next couple of days and weeks," he added.

Bessent's comments come amid speculation that Trump may fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and appoint Bessent to the post instead.

In the latest escalation in the feud between Trump and Powell, the president appeared to call for Powell to resign last week after the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) alleged Powell gave "deceptive" testimony to Congress.

 

Bream pressed Bessent on whether he is being considered for the role on Sunday, asking about how effective he thinks it is for Trump to batter Powell publicly.

"I'm a basketball fan. And in basketball there are two schools of working the refs. There’s the Bobby Knight school and the Dean Smith school. And, obviously, President Trump’s more in the Bobby Knight school. And I will tell you, Bobby Knight won three national championships. Dean Smith only won two. So, working the refs seems to be effective," Bessent responded.

 

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Bessent also dodged on the topic last week, telling Fox News' Maria Bartiromo that he will go wherever Trump tells him to go.

"We have a lot of great candidates for the Federal Reserve. I think I have the best job in Washington. I get to interact with the president. The Cabinet that he's chosen is fantastic, and being part of that Cabinet is the dream of a lifetime for me. But I will go where the president thinks that I am best suited," Bessent said.