U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Fox News interview that the 90-day pause in tariff escalation was based on good-faith negotiations. He noted that while Asian countries have presented good proposals and negotiated in good faith, the European Union's trade proposals were not as good as other trading partners.
Bessent expressed hope that the recent post by President Trump, "recommending a straight 50% tariff for the EU, effective June 1," would motivate the EU to act more decisively, highlighting what he described as a “collective action problem” within the bloc.
U.S. Treasury Secretary added that he expects more trade agreements will be announced within a 90-day period as deals with most countries are moving quickly.
Regarding Trump's latest attack on Apple (AAPL), Bessent said that the U.S. president would like the company to make the U.S. semiconductor supply chain more secure.
Also, Bessent said that he does not expect the Senate to make major changes to the reconciliation bill