Scott Bessent Signals Liberation Day 2.0 Coming If Countries Don't Sign Trade Deals: 'President Trump Has Put Them On Notice'
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has issued a fresh warning to the U.S.’s biggest trading partners, global markets, and economies on trade and tariffs.
What Happened: On Sunday, Bessent warned that U.S. tariffs could soon snap back to their “reciprocal” levels seen during “Liberation Day” if countries fail to strike trade agreements within the current 90-day window, while speaking at CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper.
“President Trump has put them on notice that if you do not negotiate in good faith, you will ratchet back up to your April 2 level,” Bessent said, referring to America’s 18 most important trading partners, which the administration is currently focused on.
For smaller trading partners, Bessent said the administration may pursue regional agreements. “We will do a lot of regional deals,” he said. “This is the rate for Central America, this is the rate for this part of Africa.”
When asked about the impact of unpredictable tariff policy on American businesses, Bessent described the White House strategy as one of “strategic uncertainty,” adding that “If we were to give too much certainty to the other countries, then they would play us in the negotiations.”
Bessent also addressed criticism from companies like Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT), which warned of rising consumer prices. “Walmart will be absorbing some of the tariffs,” he said, adding that “some may get passed on to consumers.”
Why It Matters: This comes amid tariffs pushing Walmart and Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) toy suppliers to the brink of closure in recent weeks.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, asking Walmart to “eat the tariffs,” in response to the company’s warnings of tariff-related price hikes.
Trump also said last week that tariff revenues could replace income taxes, with April customs collections hitting $15.4 billion.
However, several economists and policy experts, such as former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, have claimed that it was Trump who blinked on the tariffs.
“Whenever the commitment to the Liberation Day policies increases, markets go down. Whenever there's signs of backing off, markets go up,” Summers said, clearly highlighting that tariffs aren’t good for the markets.
Shutterstock/Maxim Elramsisy
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