Tariffs will revert back to their April 2 rates on Aug. 1 for countries that fail to nail down new trade deals with the United States, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday, just three days before the Trump administration’s initial July 9 deadline for tariffs to return. Bessent told CNN’s “State of the Union” that the Trump administration would be sending out letters to 100 smaller countries “saying that if you don’t move things along, then on August 1st, you will boomerang back to your April 2nd tariff level.” The announcement effectively pushes back the tariffs that were originally set in April but had been suspended until July 9, a window the Trump administration used to pursue an ambitious round of dealmaking with other countries aimed at reaching deals to stave off the return of tariffs of between 10 and 50 percent on dozens of countries. It comes as Trump administration officials increasingly hint at difficulties in nailing down deals. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/06/bessent-trump-tariffs-deadline-august-00440522 Let me know when countries should start taking these tariff threats seriously. Maybe they really mean it this time, right?
I loved this part of the article. Trying to make it look like TACO Trump TACO again. In the interview, Bessent said that the August target is “not a new deadline” for negotiations. “We are saying this is when it’s happening. If you want to speed things up, have at it. If you want to go back to the old rate, that’s your choice,” Bessent said.
