President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will be announcing a “major trade deal” from the Oval Office at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday morning.
“Big News Conference tomorrow morning at 10:00 A.M., The Oval Office, concerning a MAJOR TRADE DEAL WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY,” the president announced in a Truth Social post. “THE FIRST OF MANY!!!”
The news comes just a day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers that the first of many trade deals with “major trading partners” could be announced as early as this week. “There are 18 very important trading relationships. We are currently negotiating with 17 of those trading partners. China – we have not engaged in negotiations with as of yet,” Bessent said while testifying before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.
“Approximately 97% or 98% of our trade deficit is with 15 countries, 18% of the countries are major trading partners, and I would be surprised if we don’t have more than 80% or 90% of those wrapped up by the end of the year,” the treasury secretary added.
All in all, Bessent expressed confidence that new arraignments with all of the nation’s most important trading partners, with the exception of China, will be reached by the end of the year.
While speaking with Fox News later in the day, the treasury secretary confirmed that the administration will be engaging in the first of many direct talks with China in Switzerland this coming weekend.
Trump did not name the country with which a new deal has been reached, nor did he share additional details, in Wednesday night’s Truth Social post.
Bessent and other administration officials have for days hinted that new arrangements are imminent with South Korea, Japan, India and Australia. The United Kingdom has also dropped a number of their own trade barriers on U.S. goods in hopes of locking down a new trade agreement that has been sought by every British administration since Brexit.
As for China, the Trump Administration has been able to negotiate a number of tariff exemptions on key U.S. exports over the past several weeks. China was the lone exception when Trump announced a 90-day pause on the majority of his “Liberation Day” tariffs last month, as the president committed to holding firm on 125% tariffs on all Chinese imports until negotiations commence.
Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet in Geneva on Saturday and Sunday with Vice Premier He Lifeng, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s ruling Politburo and China’s top economic official.
