US optimistic about reaching agreements with many countries during the period of delaying reciprocal tariffs

On April 14, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant expressed optimism about reaching agreements with many partners during the 90-day moratorium on reciprocal tariffs.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Besant said there may not be a substantive trade deal, but an agreement in principle. That opens the door to a simplified form of agreement that includes commitments to improve the trade balance and ease trade barriers in exchange for tariff reductions.

Referring to China, Secretary Bessent affirmed that there will be a "big deal" that needs to be done at some point, stressing that there is no reason for the US and Chinese economies to separate, this is seen as a clear tone down from Washington's recent tariff war.

On the same day, Director of the US National Economic Council Kevin Hassett also said that more than 10 countries have made "excellent" trade agreement offers to the US.

In a related development, the Wall Street Journal reported on April 14 that South Korea, the UK, Australia, India and Japan are partners on the priority list for reaching a trade agreement with the US.

The newspaper cited sources familiar with the matter as saying that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant is prioritizing negotiations to reach a trade deal between the United States and the above countries as these countries have made efforts to navigate their import and export activities under the new tariff list announced by President Donald Trump. Secretary Bessant has also contacted officials from those trading partners to promote negotiations.

On April 2, President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on most of his economic partners. However, a week later, he suspended reciprocal tariffs for 90 days on dozens of countries, except China, but still imposed a base tariff of 10% on goods imported into the US.