The White House is signaling progress in its trade negotiations with several countries, claiming that agreements are “really, really well advanced” and could be finalized soon, Bloomberg reports.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett made the comments on CNBC Thursday, a day after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on retaliatory tariffs with most of the United States’ trading partners.
While Hassett did not specify which countries were involved in these advanced talks, he emphasized that deals were close to completion even before Trump’s announcement. He later told reporters that the US Trade Representative’s office had informed him that “about 15” countries have submitted “explicit offers that we’re studying and considering — and deciding whether they’re good enough to present to the president.”
Hassett indicated that a high-level meeting would be held at the White House Thursday to discuss the way forward.
“This is a really, really fast process now — that’s not beginning today or yesterday,” he said, suggesting that the current momentum in trade negotiations predates the tariff pause.
According to Hassett, there had been internal debate within the administration regarding whether to announce the nearing completion of a few deals or to proceed with the pause on tariffs.
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