Powell says tariff-driven inflation is a big problem for the Fed.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the US Central Bank is still struggling to determine the impact of tariffs on consumer prices.
Bloomberg – Politics
The US has won several trade contracts ahead of the July 9 deadline, where higher tariffs are expected to begin, Scott Bescent said it expects some major announcements in the coming days.
Bescent told CNN’s “coalized nations” that President Donald Trump will also notify them that it will be first set on April 2 and will be suspended until July 9th.
“President Trump is going to send a letter to some of our trading partners saying that if things don’t move, they’ll return to the tariff levels of April 2 on August 1. So I think we’ll see a lot of transactions very quickly,” Bescent told CNN.
Since taking office, Trump has overturned financial markets, robbed the fight to protect the economy, including dealing with the US and other countries, and sent out policymakers.
On April 2nd, Trump announced a 10% basic tariff rate and additional charges in most countries. The news has disrupted financial markets, prompting the US president to suspend everything except the 90-day 10% base rate until July 9th, giving negotiations more time to secure transactions.
Bessent denied that August 1 is the new deadline for negotiations. “We say this is when this is happening. If you want to speed things up, you have it. If you want to go back to the old rate, that’s your choice,” he told CNN.
Kevin Hassett, who heads the White House National Economic Council, provided some wiggling room for countries engaged in serious negotiations in an interview about CBS’s “Face the Nation” program.
“There’s a deadline and something close, so things might be pushed back past the deadline,” Hassett said.
“I hear good things”
Stephen Milan, chairman of the White House Economic Advisors Council, told ABC News that “this week” would need to make concessions to reduce tariff charges.
“I’ve heard good things about discussions with Europe, I’ve heard good things about consultations with India,” Milan said. “And I think many countries in the process of making those concessions might see their dates rolling.”
Bescent told CNN that the Trump administration is focusing on 18 key trading partners, which account for 95% of the US trade deficit. However, he said that there was a time when countries “stuffing a lot of feet” between them when finalizing trade deals.
He refused to name a country close to a trade agreement.
Trump has repeatedly said India is approaching signing the contract, and expressed his hope that an agreement can be reached with the European Union, casting doubt on its deal with Japan.
Thailand is making its last effort to avoid a 36% tariff by providing greater market access for US farms and industrial products along with the rise in US energy and Boeing By purchasing its US energy and Boeing Byung, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhajira told Bloomberg News on Sunday.
India and the US are likely to make final decisions on mini-trade contracts in the next 24-48 hours, local Indian news channel CNBC-TV18 reported on Sunday, reporting that the average tariff on Indian goods was 10% shipped to the US.
Hassett told CBS News that the UK-Vietnam framework agreement has already reached its reach, and it could provide guidelines to other countries seeking trade deals with Washington. He also said Trump’s pressure is urging many countries to move production to the US.
Milan called the Vietnam trade “fantastic.”
“It’s very one-sided. We can apply a considerable amount of tariffs on Vietnamese exports. They open the market to our market and apply zero tariffs on exports.”
Trump on Friday said tariff rates would skyrocket up to 70% in countries that were not offering concessions, but no details were provided. Bessent was asked about the 70% rate and was returned to the list on April 2nd, which did not include a very high price.
(Reporting by Andrea Shaalal and Brendan O’Brien, Editing by Bill Berkrot)
