(The Epoch Times)—The Trump administration has spoken to at least 90 countries to negotiate trade deals after the president recently imposed sweeping baseline and reciprocal tariffs, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on April 23.
During an executive order signing ceremony in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump asked Lutnick how many countries had reached out to broker trade deals. The secretary said 90 U.S. trading partners had contacted the administration so far.
“They all want to make deals,” the president said. “But they’re going to be fair deals. They’re not going to be rip-off deals.”
Trump told reporters that for countries that fail to reach deals, the administration will set a rate.
“If we don’t have a deal with a company or country, we’re gonna set the tariff,” the president said. “‘I’d say, over the next couple of weeks.”
When asked if this plan would apply to China, Trump said he may work out a “special deal” with Beijing.
“We’re dealing with a lot of countries right now, and could be with China, but maybe we‘ll make a special deal, and we’ll see what it will be,” he said, adding that his administration has been in contact with China “every day.”
During a Tuesday press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was discussing trade deals with 34 countries this week, with 18 proposals already on paper.
After recent reports suggested that Trump was considering lowering tariffs on China unilaterally to de-escalate trade tensions with Beijing as both nations engage in a trade war, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rebutted on Wednesday.
“Not at all,” Bessent said when asked if Trump would lower tariffs on China unilaterally. Bessent was asked about the tariff war with China after a keynote address at an Institute of International Finance event in Washington.
“As I’ve said many times, I don’t think either side believes that the current tariff levels are sustainable, so I would not be surprised if they went down in a mutual way,” he added.
The White House also denied reports that Trump is considering a significant reduction in tariffs on Chinese imports.
“President Trump has been clear: China needs to make a deal with the United States of America,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Epoch Times. “When decisions on tariffs are made, they will come directly from the president. Anything else is just pure speculation.”
The president’s tariffs have grown to 145 percent on Chinese imports after initially levying lower tariffs on Beijing to pressure the regime to curb China’s export of fentanyl precursor earlier this year. China retaliated by imposing 125 percent tariffs on U.S. imports, including other measures.
The president has paused targeted tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners until July 9 while negotiating deals. Additional targeted tariffs are also in place for products such as steel, aluminum, automobiles, and semiconductors.
Emel Akan contributed to this report.
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