The United States has received priced price offers from around 15 countries, according to director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett, who said that the 90-day break in reciprocal rates was the result of “good faith conversations” with global partners. According to reports, India is among the main countries on the list that have made explicit offers to US President Donald Trump.
“The break was based on a conversation of good faith. I was on appeal with the president and the president of Switzerland yesterday morning who was incredibly sympathetic,” Hassett told journalists at the White House on Thursday, CNN reported.
Hassett said that the United States is currently examining these offers, with current discussions on how to move forward with commercial transactions within the framework of the new proposed tariff structure. He also noted that “the closure of countries from 15 to 20” has expressed interest in negotiating agreements with Washington.
“We had two agreements almost concluded last week. Almost closed. Closing them forced lawyers to work forever and so on, and therefore close them yesterday was not entirely going,” he said.
The current American commercial framework under discussion includes a universal basic rate of 10%, which indicated that Hassett will probably remain intact for most nations unless important concessions are made.
“It will take a kind of extraordinary transaction for the president to decrease this rate,” said Hassett.
He added that the 90 -day window to finalize these trade agreements is “very feasible”, which suggests a strong dynamic on the diplomatic front.
“We had a whole movement of the world leaders in the White House in the coming weeks,” said Hassett, highlighting a coordination in progress with American trade officials. “And (the US trade representative) informed us that there may be 15 countries that have made explicit offers that we are studying and considering and deciding if they are good enough to present to the President.”
Hassett also said that the commercial strategy towards China will be a central subject at a meeting of the firm scheduled for Thursday. Discussions can focus on the question of whether the United States should conclude agreements with allies to present a unified response to the economic structure of China.
Referencing the comments of the secretary Bessent on Wednesday on a coordinated approach with China, Hassett said: “These are the kind of thing that will be discussed during the meetings today.”
Although official discussions with Beijing have not yet started, Hassett told CNBC earlier that “Trump and Chinese chief Xi Jinping had had conversations in the past that have been very productive”.
