Bessent says countries may avoid reciprocal tariffs by halting unfair barriers

WASHINGTON: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that Washington could hold off reciprocal tariffs for countries that halt practices it deems unfair, adding that officials will produce a list of levies on April 2.

“On April 2, we are going to produce a list of other countries’ tariffs,” Bessent told Fox Business in an interview.

“We are going to go to them and say, look, here’s where we think the tariff levels are, non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation, unfair funding, labor suppression,” he added.

If they stop these, Bessent said, “we will not put up the tariff wall.”

His comments come around two weeks before April 2, the date that President Donald Trump has promised “reciprocal tariffs” that could hit both US allies and competitors.

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The levies would be tailored to each US trading partner and consider the duties that they impose on American goods, as well as taxes seen as “discriminatory” such as value-added taxes (VATs).

The president has referred to tariffs as a way to raise revenue, remedy trade imbalances and pressure countries to act on US concerns.

On Tuesday, Bessent stressed that Trump has identified “critical industries” – like steel and aluminum among manufacturing sectors – for which he hopes to bring production back to the United States.

He added that “we’re going to take in substantial revenues,” pointing to these as a means to offset the government deficit.

Economists note that while tariffs raise revenue for the government, they also shift demand towards domestic industries that make the protected goods.

They caution that this does not always mean a net expansion of demand.