The United States is poised to make several significant trade announcements within the next 48 hours, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday, just ahead of a key deadline to finalize trade agreements.
Bessent noted a surge in proposals from negotiating partners: “My mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals… It’s going to be a busy couple of days,” News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
President Donald Trump previously stated that the U.S. would begin sending out new tariff letters starting at noon ET on Monday. According to Bessent, the letters will not function as ultimatums but will lay out new tariff terms while leaving the door open for continued negotiations.
“These letters simply say: ‘Thank you for wanting to trade with the United States. Here’s the rate — unless you’d like to come back and negotiate,’” Bessent explained.
While he declined to confirm whether the upcoming negotiations over the ownership of TikTok would be linked to broader trade discussions, Bessent did reveal plans to meet with his Chinese counterpart in the coming weeks, suggesting that future talks may expand beyond trade.
“We will discuss whether we are able to move beyond trade into other areas,” he said.
