Bessent Warns Tariffs Will Go Back Up for Nations That Do Not Negotiate in ‘Good Faith’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that those who fail to negotiate in good faith will receive a letter notifying them of the tariff they will face.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a news conference in Geneva on May 12, 2025. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on May 18 that reciprocal tariffs could return to the levels set by President Donald Trump on April 2 if trading partners don’t negotiate in good faith.

On April 2, Trump announced a minimum 10 percent tariff on nearly all imports, with higher levies on roughly 60 nations labeled as the “worst offenders” in trade imbalances with the United States as part of an effort to close trade deficits. He subsequently granted a 90-day pause to most countries to allow time for negotiations, while maintaining a baseline 10 percent tariff.

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Bessent said that the final tariff rate would depend on whether trading partners are willing to engage in good-faith negotiations on trade deals.

“Some countries were at 10 percent, some were substantially higher,” he said. “And the negotiating leverage that President Trump is talking about here is if you don’t want to negotiate, then it will spring back to the April 2 level.”

Those who fail to negotiate in good faith will receive a letter notifying them of the tariff they will face, Bessent said.

“This means that they’re not negotiating in good faith,” he added. “So I would expect that everyone would come and negotiate in good faith.”

His remarks followed Trump’s May 16 announcement that Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will start sending letters in the coming weeks to trade partners outlining the tariffs that will be applied to their goods.

“I guess you could say they could appeal it, but for the most part, I think we’re going to be very fair,” Trump said during an event in the United Arab Emirates on May 16.

Trade Talks

Several nations, including India and South Korea, have engaged in trade talks with the United States in recent months to avert Trump’s tariff hikes before the pause ends.

Earlier this month, Trump announced that he had reached a trade agreement with the United Kingdom and that it would be a “great deal for both countries.”

“The deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, dramatically increasing access for American beef, ethanol, and virtually all of the products produced by our great farmers,” he said at a press conference in the Oval Office on May 8.

Trump said the UK would be “fast-tracking American goods through their customs process” and that “there won’t be any red tape, things are going to move very quickly both ways.”

Under the deal, U.S. tariffs on British cars fall to 10 percent for the first 100,000 vehicles imported, and tariffs on steel are scrapped completely.

Trump announced last week that India has offered a zero-tariff trade deal with the United States, though no final decision has been made yet.

Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has emphasized that any trade agreement with the United States must be “mutually beneficial” and serve the interests of both nations.

India has reduced duties on some U.S. products such as bourbon whiskey, motorcycles, information and communication technology products, and metals, while also enhancing market access for U.S. agricultural products and medical devices to secure a trade deal with the United States, according to a Feb. 13 joint statement.

On May 12, Trump reduced the tariff on Chinese imports to 30 percent after reaching an agreement with China to pause their trade measures. In turn, China’s rate will be cut by 115 percentage points to 10 percent, and Beijing will lift its countermeasures.

Prior to the agreement, China responded to U.S. tariffs on it with tariffs of its own, causing a back-and-forth that resulted in U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports topping out at 145 percent.

Jack Phillips and Chris Summers contributed to this report.