The US plans to complete the process of concluding trade agreements with countries that have not done so by August 7, when US tariffs took effect, by the end of October 2025, announced US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant.
“I think we will complete this process by the end of October“, he said in an interview with the Nikkei Asia portal.
Besant cited balancing the US trade balance as one of the conditions for reducing tariffs. “If manufacturing returns to the US, we will import less. "That's how we're going to balance the trade deficit," he explained.
Besant also noted that US President Donald Trump is using tariff policy not only to increase treasury revenue and protect American industrialists, but also as a tool "for negotiating foreign policy issues." "For example, now he has said that he wants India to stop buying Russian oil," the minister said, referring to the tariffs against New Delhi.
On April 2, Trump announced the introduction of tariffs on products from 185 countries and territories. On August 1, he signed an executive order imposing tariffs of 15% to 41% on more than 60 countries and the European Union. They came into effect on August 7. The highest tariffs were imposed on Iraq (35%), Serbia (35%), Switzerland (39%), Laos (40%), Myanmar (40%) and Syria (41%).
On August 6, the US imposed additional tariffs of 25% on India in connection with the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products.