Up to 70 countries eager to negotiate with Trump over tariffs, Treasury head says

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed on April 7 that as many as 70 countries have reached out to Washington seeking negotiations on President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariff measures.

Bessent made the remarks during an appearance on Fox Business Network’s "Kudlow" with host Lawrence Kudlow, per Caliber.Az.

President Trump last week announced a major overhaul of US trade policy, unveiling a baseline 10% tariff on imported goods and promising “individualized reciprocal higher” tariffs for specific nations.

“Trump is better than anyone at giving himself maximum leverage,” Bessent told Kudlow, explaining the administration’s strategy. “So what he has done is we outlined the tariffs on April 2 and then gave countries several days to think about it.”

Bessent recalled his earlier public comments, saying, “As I advised on many shows on April 2, I suggested that the foreign officials keep your cool, that you do not escalate and come to us with your offers — on how you’re going to drop tariffs, how you’re going to drop non-tariff barriers, how you’re going to stop your currency manipulation, how you’re going to stop the subsidized financing. And at a point, President Trump will be ready to negotiate.”

According to Bessent, the president is already in talks with world leaders. “Trump reported earlier today that he had talked with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba,” he said, adding that both he and US Trade Representative Jameson Greer have been tapped to lead negotiations with Japan.

“President Trump is going to be directly involved in those negotiations too,” Bessent noted.

Though Japan has not yet made a specific proposal, Bessent said the Trump administration had received widespread international response. “Fifty, sixty, maybe almost seventy countries have gotten in contact with the Trump administration looking to negotiate,” he told Kudlow. “So it’s going to be a busy April, May, maybe into June.”

He said Japan would likely be a priority. “Just because they came forward very quickly,” Bessent explained. “And of course, we have very strong military and economic ties with Japan.”

During the interview, Bessent defended the administration’s approach, saying the decision to consider trade deficits in assessing tariff rates was justified. “Academic studies have shown that it’s the non-tariff trade barriers that are the real problem in the US having free and fair access to these markets,” he said.

When Kudlow asked if a trade deal with Japan could be wrapped up within a few weeks, Bessent struck a cautiously optimistic tone.

“I’ll reiterate what I saw last week for countries that don’t retaliate. We are at a maximum tariff level, and it is my hope that through good negotiations, all we will do is see levels come down. But that’s going to depend on the other countries,” he said.

“And you know, President Trump is going to be personally involved in these negotiations,” Bessent emphasized. “He believes, as many of us do, that there’s been an unfair playing field, so the negotiations are going to be tough.”

By Tamilla Hasanova