Speaking about customs during the conference of the American Bankers Association Bankier Association, Bessent with optimism spoke about the possibility of concluding trade agreements with allies. As he said, President Trump had already conducted good talks with the prime minister of Japan and after the President of South Korea, and on Tuesday talks with the Vietnam delegation took place.
“So I think we have about 70 negotiations. I do not plan to go anywhere to Easter (…), and now I am following a leading negotiating role in many matters of tariffs, starting with the Japanese delegation” Bessent said.
The US warns the EU
He again warned America's partners from retaliation at the duties and stated that so far only China did it (his words were spoken before the announcement of EU customs). He also warned against the return of allies towards China.
“I am not sure if the prime minister or the Minister of Economy in Spain gave some comments this morning:” Oh, well, maybe we should ally with China. “ It would be a slit of your own throat because I can tell you that this US tariff will stop China. And for all of you who remember the Disney movie (“Fantasy” – editor's note) about brooms carrying buckets of water, this is a Chinese business model. It never ends. They simply still produce and produce, and throw it (to the markets), and throw it away, and it must go somewhere ” – said the minister.
He added “In the end, we can probably reach an agreement with our allies, with countries that were good military allies (…), and then we can approach China as a group” He assessed.
