米べい財務ざいむ長官ちょうかん “高たかい関税かんぜいを回避かいひしたければ要求ようきゅうに応おうじるべき”

The deadline for the temporary suspension of reciprocal tariffs by the Trump administration in the United States is approaching on the 9th. Treasury Secretary Bessent indicated that tariff negotiations with several countries are nearing agreement, but also stated that many countries are at a standstill, urging that if they want to avoid high tariffs, they should comply with Americas demands.

President Trump of the United States announced on the 4th that he would sign letters regarding negotiations over tariff measures to 12 countries and send them on the 7th. Regarding the tariff rates, he indicated that they will probably range widely, from about 60% or 70% to around 10% or 20%.

Treasury Secretary Bessent appeared on CNN on the 6th and said regarding President Trump’s letter, “If there is no positive response, we will inform them that the tariff levels will return to those of April 2 starting August 1.” He indicated that for the countries receiving the letter, if an agreement is not reached, the reciprocal tariff levels announced in April will be applied from August 1.

And he said, There will be several major announcements in the coming days, indicating that negotiations with several countries are nearing agreement.

On the other hand, he pointed out that there are many countries that are at a standstill, and added, Whether they want to speed things up or return to previous tariff rates, thats up to each country. He pressed that if they want to avoid high tariffs, they should comply with Americas demands.

Additionally, Secretary Bessent indicated that letters would also be sent to approximately 100 countries with relatively small trade volumes. However, he stated, Ninety-five percent of the U.S. trade deficit is caused by 18 key trading partners, and our focus is on them, expressing his intention to continue prioritizing agreements with major trading partners, including Japan.