WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump mentioned on Wednesday (Jun 11) he could be prepared to increase a Jul 8 deadline for finishing commerce talks with international locations earlier than greater US tariffs take impact, however didn’t imagine that will be mandatory.
Trump instructed reporters earlier than a efficiency on the Kennedy Heart that commerce negotiations have been persevering with with some 15 international locations, together with South Korea, Japan and the European Union.
“We’re rocking when it comes to offers,” he mentioned. “We’re coping with fairly just a few international locations they usually all need to make a cope with us.” He mentioned he didn’t imagine a deadline extension could be “a necessity”.
Trump mentioned the US would ship out letters in coming weeks specifying the phrases of commerce offers to dozens of different international locations, which they may then embrace or reject.
“At a sure level, we’re simply going to ship letters out … saying, ‘That is the deal. You may take it, or you’ll be able to go away it,'” Trump mentioned. “So at a sure level we’ll try this. We’re not fairly prepared.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent instructed lawmakers earlier that the Trump administration might lengthen the July commerce deal deadline – or “roll the date ahead” for international locations negotiating in good religion, in sure instances.
A 90-day pause in Trump’s broadest, “reciprocal” tariffs will finish on Jul 8, with just one commerce deal agreed with Britain and a few 17 others at varied phases of negotiation.
“It’s extremely possible that these international locations – or buying and selling blocs as is the case with the EU – who’re negotiating in good religion, we’ll roll the date ahead to proceed the good-faith negotiations,” Bessent instructed the Home Methods and Means Committee. “If somebody is just not negotiating, then we won’t.”
