US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said today that a large number of major commercial partners of the United States submitted “very good” proposals to avoid American customs duties, and India is likely to be one of the first countries signing of such an agreement. He explained that the United States is currently focusing on contracting trade agreements with between 15 and 18 countries, so it does not give priority to the Chinese file.
“I think India will be (the owner) one of the first commercial agreements that we will sign,” he told CNBC, adding that the United States has also held very fundamental negotiations with Japan, and that discussions with other Asian business partners are going well.
In statements to reporters, Besent said that the first trade agreement of this kind is possible to be concluded this week or next week.
Pesent told Fox News that US President Donald Trump “will be closely involved” in detailed commercial deals with 15 to 18 important commercial partners, but it will be important to reach preliminary agreements soon.
China should take the first step
In response to a question about whether he intends to contact his Chinese counterpart to start negotiations between the two largest economies in the world, Pesent told Fox News, “We will see what will happen with China. It is important. I think the Chinese side cannot bear this, so they may call me one day,” said Besent told Fox News.
Earlier today, Pesent said China should take the first step to calm the trade war, adding that the “all elements” of the US government are in contact with China, but it is up to Beijing to take the first step towards calming the battle of customs duties with the United States due to the large trade deficit of the United States with China.
Pesent said that China exempting some American commodities from customs duties is an indication that it is interested in reducing tension, adding, “In my bag of escalation tools, but we are keen not to use them,” as the escalation can include a ban on China. “
The US Treasury Secretary indicated that US officials met their Chinese counterparts during the meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington last week to talk about “financial stability”, but they did not address trade relations.
