Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Warns Countries Of Steep ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs If They Miss July 9 Deadline

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned countries that if they don’t propose or enter into a trade deal with the United States by July 9, they could be subject to the steep “Liberation Day” tariffs announced by President Donald Trump in April.

Bessent warned “recalcitrant” countries of higher tariffs that the Trump administration could dial up the tariffs again.

“We have countries that are negotiating in good faith, but they should be aware that if we can't get across the line because they are being recalcitrant, then we could spring back to the April 2 levels,” Bessent said in a Bloomberg interview.

This comes after President Trump revealed that the White House is not looking to extend the July 9 deadline despite giving vague signals last week.

Addressing reporters at the White House, Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the July 9 deadline is “not critical,” but that an extension is a decision for the President to make.

“The president can simply provide these countries with a deal if they refuse to make us one by the deadline,” Leavitt said, reiterating President Trump’s stance.

“And that means the president can pick a reciprocal tariff rate that he believes is advantageous for the United States and for the American worker,” she added.

So far, the Trump administration has only announced one deal with a close ally, the U.K. With the President’s 90-day pause set to expire in a little over a week, on July 9, whether another deal will be announced remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities edged up on Monday as Wall Street looked poised to close the month on a high.

At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up 0.15%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.33%. Stocktwits data shows retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF has been in the ‘extremely bearish’ territory over the past week.

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