US President Donald Trump will impose tariffs at previously threatened rates on trading partners that do not negotiate in “good faith,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday.
Mr Bessent did not define “good faith” or specify when decisions on tariff reinstatements would be announced.
Mr Trump has repeatedly reversed course since then, notably on April 9, when he lowered his tariff rates on most imported goods to 10 per cent for 90 days to give negotiators time to hash out deals with other countries.
He separately lowered the rate for Chinese goods to 30 per cent. On Friday, he reiterated that his administration would send letters telling nations what their rates would be.
On Sunday, Mr Bessent said the administration was focused on its 18 most important trading relationships and that the timing of any deals would also depend on whether countries were negotiating in good faith, with letters going out to those that did not.
“This means that they're not negotiating in good faith. They are going to get a letter saying, 'Here is the rate.' So, I would expect that everyone would come and negotiate in good faith,” he told NBC News.
He added that those countries that are notified would probably see their rates return to the levels set on April 2.
Asked when any trade deals could be announced, Mr Bessent told CNN: “Again, it will depend on whether they're negotiating in good faith.
“My other sense is that we will do a lot of regional deals; this is the rate for Central America. This is the rate for this part of Africa,” he added.
Mr Trump's continuing trade wars have severely disrupted global trade flows and roiled financial markets as investors struggle with what Mr Bessent has called the President's “strategic uncertainty,” in his drive to reshape economic relationships in the US's favour.
