National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Friday the White House has more than 15 trade deals on the horizon in the wake of President Trump’s tariffs on foreign exports.
Hassett offered no specific details of any deals but described them as “really big, big steps forward.”
Trump put a 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs across all countries except China last week, a bid to give foreign trading partners three months to negotiate deals with the United States and eliminate the need for tariffs this summer.
Last week, Hassett said several deals were close to closing but needed legal approval before being processed.
“There’s a bunch of offers that are really sensible offers, and they’re coming from our top trading partners,” Hassett told CNBC last Thursday.
“It’s some of the most progress in trade negotiation that — I think probably the most progress that we’ve ever seen,” he added.
He suggested that if other countries remove tariffs on the United States, Trump would do the same.
“So, I think that this system that the president set up to say, ‘Hey, we’re serious about negotiation. We’re serious about reciprocity,’” the White House economist said.
“If you guys come down, we’ll come down to do that,” he added.
The president has argued tariffs will boost the American economy and manufacturing despite concerns from economists, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
“I think we’re going to do even better this time, because you will see that the numbers that we’re taking in are astronomical. We’re taking in a tremendous amount of money with the tariffs,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday.
“We were treated very unfairly and the countries are having a hard time getting used to the fact that they can’t do that to us anymore because we have a real president. We have a president that understands what it’s all about,” he added.