Catenaa, Monday, April 19, 2025- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned its trading partners on Sunday that tariff rates will go back to April 2 levels if trade deals are not made with the US during the 90-day pause.
“President Trump has put them on notice that if you do not negotiate in good faith, you will ratchet back up to your April 2 level,” Bessent told CNN in an interview.
“There are 18 important trading partners that the United States is most focused on solidifying deals with,” Bessent said. He did not say how quickly tariff rates could revert to “reciprocal” rates.
Bessent said Walmart’s price hike warning was a “worst case scenario” after speaking with CEO Doug McMillon. This came after President Trump told the retailer on Saturday to “eat the tariffs” instead of raising prices.
“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China, they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Walmart, upon releasing its quarterly earnings on Thursday, said that rising costs from tariffs could lead to higher prices for shoppers as early as this month, as it skipped giving profit guidance due to Trump’s tariffs disrupting global trade.
Trump said Friday that the US will set tariff rates for its trading partners within the next few weeks. He said his administration cannot negotiate trade deals with all countries at once due to limited capacity.
“I think we’re going to be very fair. But it’s not possible to meet the number of people that want to see us,” the president said during a meeting with business executives in the United Arab Emirates.
