Threat of more tariffs hangs over countries negotiating trade deals

As America’s largest trading partners race toward deals, they are increasingly worried about being hit with future tariffs on their critical industries, The New York Times reported.

Governments around the globe are racing to negotiate trade deals with the United States to forestall President Trump’s punishing tariffs, which could kick in on July 9. But the discussions have been slowed because Mr. Trump has threatened to impose more tariffs even if those deals are in place.

Mr. Trump announced what he refers to as “reciprocal tariffs” on April 8, which he said were in response to other countries' unfair trading practices. But he agreed to pause those levies for 90 days to give countries time to reach trade deals with the United States. Some administration officials recently suggested that the deadline could be extended but Mr. Trump has signaled that he is ready to slap tariffs on countries he views as uncooperative.

“We have countries that are negotiating in good faith, but they should be aware that if we can’t get across the line because they are being recalcitrant, then we could spring back to the April 2 levels,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday.

India, Vietnam, Japan, the European Union, Malaysia and other governments have been working toward deals that could smooth relations with the United States and avoid double-digit tariffs. But the Trump administration has been moving forward with plans to impose another set of tariffs on certain industries that it views as essential to national security, a threat that has foreign leaders worried that there could be more pain ahead.