12-06-2025
Trump open to extending trade talks' deadline, but says it won't be necessary
US President Donald Trump said he's willing to extend the July 8 deadline for completing trade talks with several countries. However, he believes an extension may not be to reporters before attending Les Misrables at the Kennedy Centre, Trump said, "We're rocking in terms of deals. We're dealing with quite a few countries, and they all want to make a deal with us." He noted that ongoing discussions include trade partners like Japan, South Korea, and the European expressed confidence that most agreements would be in place before the deadline. "I don't think it's a necessity," he said when asked about a possible extension.
Trump also shared plans to move forward with trade terms soon. "At a certain point, we're just going to send letters out saying, 'This is the deal. You can take it, or you can leave it,'" he said. "We're not quite ready, but we're close."US OFFICIALS SIGNAL FLEXIBILITY FOR 'GOOD-FAITH' NEGOTIATORSTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the House Ways and Means Committee that countries negotiating seriously could see the July 8 deadline pushed back."It is highly likely that those countries -- or trading blocs like the EU -- who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward," Bessent said. "If someone is not negotiating, then we will not."advertisementThis is the Trump administration's first overt indication that it might prolong trade deadlines for nations involved in serious negotiations. He pointed out that the European Union, which had been slow earlier, is now showing signs of "better faith" in the talks. BLOODBATH IN MARKETS AFTER LIBERATION DAY TARIFFS Trump had announced the 90-day pause in tariffs on April 9. This came a week after he unveiled "Liberation Day" tariffs that targeted nearly all countries across the world. The announcement shook global markets, with the S&P 500 dropping more than 12% in four days -- the worst performance since the COVID-19 started their recovery on April 9 when Trump unexpectedly announced the pause. The recovery continued in early May when the Trump team agreed to dial back the triple-digit tariff rates it had imposed on goods from China. Those events have given rise to what some on Wall Street have parodied as the "TACO" trade - an acronym for Trump Always Chickens move led many on Wall Street to jokingly refer to the situation as the "TACO" trade -- acronym for "Trump Always Chickens Out."
