‘It’s about bad actors’: US on China; says India, Japan, South Korea in front on trade negotiations

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clarified that the issue at hand involves 'bad actors' in global trade, specifically singling out China, which faces a 125% tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump. Bessent highlighted that such countries are contributing to global economic imbalances. Trade negotiations are primarily occurring with countries neighboring China.

Bessent stated, “It's not a trade war. It's about bad actors. And what we see is some of the very early countries are China's neighbours that we're going to see. I saw Vietnam today. Japan is in front, South Korea and India.”

This escalation against China follows the country's decision to raise tariffs on US goods from 34 per cent to 84 per cent, effective April 10. Bessent noted that the sweeping tariffs announced by Trump on April 2, most of which have been suspended for 90 days, serve as a 'negotiating strategy.' 

The sudden announcement led to a global market rebound, ending days of volatility. 

“We saw the successful negotiating strategy that President Trump implemented a week ago today. It has brought more than 75 countries forward to negotiate,” Bessent remarked. He also mentioned that Trump intended to be personally involved in the trade negotiations. “President Trump wants to be personally involved. So that's why we're hitting the 90-day plan. So every country in the world that wants to come and negotiate, we are willing to hear you. We are going to go down to a 10 per cent baseline tariff for them.”

For India too, Trump's announcement provides a 90-day reprieve. The US had imposed a 26 per cent tariff on Indian imports, excluding pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. India, which has been repeatedly labelled a 'big abuser' of trade ties by Trump, has taken a cautious approach, focusing on finalising the trade deal announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US. 

The two nations have already agreed on the terms of reference for the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), and a deal is expected to be concluded by autumn this year.