President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs against trading partners is likely to be extended as negotiations continue, a top White House official said Wednesday.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before the House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday about the administration’s efforts to negotiate trade deals with other countries.
Bessent said the U.S. is currently in talks with 18 of its most important trading partners. As long as the negotiations continue, the tariff pause for those countries could continue beyond its July 9 expiration, he said.
“It is highly likely that those countries—or trading blocs, as in the case of the EU—who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue good faith negotiations,” Bessent said.
All imports currently face a 10% baseline tariff. However, the administration has said in the past that if trade deals cannot be reached by July 9, the higher “reciprocal” tariffs on some U.S. trading partners will be implemented.
Bessent’s comments come as the administration has roughly a month to complete what it had once described as “90 deals in 90 days.” So far, only one deal has been announced, with the U.K. Last week, the White House asked countries for their best and final offers.
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