Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the administration’s deliberately ambiguous trade posture, telling reporters, “The aperture of uncertainty will be narrowing as we start announcing the trade deals. But certainty is not a good thing while negotiating.” He said President Trump is using “strategic uncertainty” to extract fairer terms from trading partners.
Trump is expected to sign an executive order on auto tariffs today, a move aimed at shielding U.S. carmakers from broader tariff impacts. Bessent added that there are 17 trade deals in motion, with China “put to the side.” He also promised clarity soon on a sweeping new tax bill designed to spark domestic investment. “Business leaders have gone into a pause,” Bessent acknowledged. “We’ll get the tax bill done. It’s going to be powerful.”
Echoing Trump’s campaign pledges, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “If you do business in the U.S., you won’t pay a tariff — you won’t pay a price.”
