USA: New tariffs are coming!!!!

Tariff fire! U.S. Treasury Secretary: tariff rates will revert to “reciprocal” levels if countries can’t reach a trade deal with the U.S.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that tariffs would soon revert to “reciprocal” levels in the event of a failure to reach a trade deal during the 90-day pause.

“President Trump has warned them that if you don’t negotiate in good faith, the tariffs will revert to the April 2 levels,” Besant said on his program.

Besant said the U.S. is now most focused on reaching agreements with 18 “important” trading partners. He did not say how quickly tariffs would return to “reciprocal” levels.

Besant added: “For a lot of the smaller trade relationships, we can just set a number. I also think we’re going to have a lot of regional agreements – ‘tariffs in Central America are at this level, this part of Africa is at that level’.”

Trump announced a series of “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2, calling it “Liberation Day.” He then suspended those tariffs for 90 days, reducing the rates to a baseline level of 10 percent.

On Friday, Trump said there was little time left for countries to reach a trade deal.

Speaking at a business roundtable in Abu Dhabi, Trump said, “There’s 150 countries at the same time that want to make a deal with us, but you can’t meet with that many countries, so over the next two to three weeks I think Besant and Commerce Secretary Lutnick will be sending out notices one after the other, and we’re going to be very fair, but will be telling people what they’re going to have to pay if they want to do business in the US fees.”

Besant was also asked about the volatility and uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariff policies. He responded that the administration’s negotiating strategy is “strategic uncertainty.”

Earlier, retail giant Walmart warned of price increases. On Saturday, Trump posted a request for Walmart to “own the tariffs.”

Besant said he spoke directly with Walmart CEO Doug McMillon on Saturday.

Besant said, “Walmart will absorb some of the tariffs, and the other part may be passed on to consumers.”

Besant responds to Moody’s downgrade of U.S. rating

Moody’s Ratings downgraded U.S. Treasuries from AAA to Aa1 on Friday, the last U.S. rating agency to maintain a AAA rating. Previously, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s downgraded the U.S. credit rating in 2023 and 2011, respectively.

The rating downgrades could lead more investors to perceive lending money to the U.S. government as more risky, pushing up U.S. Treasury yields. U.S. Treasuries, particularly 10-year Treasuries, have a significant impact on a variety of debt instruments, including mortgage rates, as well as global contract pricing.

Besant responded, “Moody’s is a lagging indicator – that’s the general perception of the rating agencies.”

He said on Sunday, “Our problems were not created in these 100 days, they were caused by the Biden administration and its spending over the last four years. We inherited this situation, but we are determined to reduce government spending and drive economic growth.”

He said, “Who cares about the Moody’s downgrade? Qatar doesn’t care, the Saudis don’t care, the UAE doesn’t care, they’re all pumping money in and have a 10-year (U.S.) investment plan.”