The clock is ticking toward the Aug. 1 deadline.
President Donald Trump is set to impose sweeping reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners unless they can finalize bilateral trade agreements before midnight.
While White House officials have called it a hard deadline, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “it’s not the end of the world,” as countries can still negotiate trade deals.
“I would think that it’s not the end of the world if these snapback tariffs are on for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks,” Bessent told CNBC on July 29. “As long as the countries are moving forward and trying to negotiate in good faith.”…