Bessent says 'not to panic' over tariff rate surges on Aug. 1

Magnus Lejhall | TT | Via ReutersTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday urged corporate America, investors and U.S. trade partners "not to panic" if tariff rates surge on Aug. 1 because deals have not been reached yet, saying that countries "can still do a deal" after President Donald Trump's deadline expires."You're just going to go back to your April 2 recical tariff level," Bessent said at a policy event with hardline conservative site Breitbart News, adding that a higher tariff rate may apply to any given country "for three days, it may be on for three weeks, it may be on for three months.""You can continue negotiating," Bessent said, addressing America's trade partners and suggesting that Trump's Aug. 1 tariff deadline was yet another negotiating tool for a White House seeking to pressure countries to accept higher tariff rates while granting U.S. ducts more access to their domestic .Bessent said that if a country's tariff rate lands on the level that was initially announced on Trump's "Liberation Day" in April, it is "going to get a lot of attention." Many of the April 2 rates are significantly higher than the 10% blanket baseline tariff rate currently in place."I would expect that it's going to be a busy August," Bessent said, foreshadowing what could be an onslaught of trade negotiations after the Friday deadline expires.The Trump administration maintains that the Aug. 1 trade deadline is firm, even as scores of countries, including some top trading partners, have not yet inked any kind of trade deal."THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE – IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXT," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Wednesday.Read more CNBC coverageSenate Democrats seek Jeffrey Epstein files from Trump administration through obscure lawTrump announces 25% tariff on India plus 'penalty' for trade with RussiaDOJ urges release of Epstein and Maxwell grand jury info in new filingsTrump says Friday tariff deadline 'will not be ext'Bessent to U.S. es: 'Not the end of the world' if Apr. 2 tariffs kick inTrump says Jeffrey Epstein 'stole' Virginia Giuffre from Mar-a-Lago spaEPA seeks to repeal finding that carbon dioxide emissions threaten public healthNegotiators say Trump apval needed to extend U.S.-China tariff pauseLutnick: Trump trade, tariff deals with all but China will be 'done by Friday'Trump's trade deals for 'the world' will be 'done by Friday,' but China will take longer: LutnickBessent's remarks echo s he made Tuesday, when he said that it was "not the end of the world if these snapback tariffs are on for anywhere from a few days to a few week," again underscoring that the recical tariff rates could be temporary for countries negotiating in "good faith."Yet Bessent's remarks are unly to reassure investors and es bracing for Trump's tariffs to take effect, especially as companies are already struggling to keep pace with the evolving trade environment.