On Monday, Eastern Time, Michael Faulkender, the US Under Secretary of the Treasury, said that the Trump administration had "made very good progress" in trade negotiations and was "near the finish line" in reaching some trade agreements.
"As long as we continue to make progress, I think you will see more agreements announced before July 9," Faulkender said.
No intention to extend the 90-day tariff suspension period
On April 2, the so-called "Liberation Day" according to Trump, Trump announced broad reciprocal tariffs worldwide, causing a major uproar in the global trade market. On April 9, Trump suspended the reciprocal tariffs on most of the US's trading partners for a period of 90 days, postponing the effective date of hefty tariffs to July 9.
At that time, the Trump administration claimed that its goal was to "reach 90 agreements within 90 days." However, nearly two months have passed since then, and the US has only announced its agreement with the UK so far.
Despite this, Faulkender still insisted that they had no intention of extending the 90-day tariff suspension period.
Faulkender said that the White House hoped to "complete as many of these discussions as possible" before the end of the 90-day suspension period, noting that trade agreement negotiations "can sometimes be complex."
Good progress made in negotiations with several countries
Faulkender said, "We hope to see that we can at least reach the terms of an agreement before the end of the suspension period. As long as (trading partners) push the negotiations forward and show goodwill, we will continue to move towards announcing these agreements."
He said, "We hope to announce and bring some solutions to the American people and the market as soon as possible."
Faulkender also said that White House negotiators had "continued to make very good progress in several countries and that these negotiations should yield results soon."