US agriculture chief says new deals may be struck over tariffs by end of week

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By Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Tuesday that new deals could be struck with other countries over trade tariffs by the end of this week.

Rollins made the comments in an interview to Fox News host Bret Baier on the network’s “Special Report” show.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

President Donald Trump said last week that he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the U.S. and higher duties on dozens of other countries, including some of Washington’s biggest trading partners, rattling global markets and bewildering U.S. allies.

After China retaliated with its own tariffs, the United States said on Tuesday that 104% duties on imports from China would take effect shortly after midnight, even as the Trump administration moved to quickly start talks with other trading partners targeted by Trump’s sweeping tariff plan.

KEY QUOTE

“I believe, sincerely, it will be sooner rather than later. I believe we’ll be hearing about new deals that are being struck, perhaps by the end of the week,” Rollins said, adding 70 countries had reached out to the U.S. for talks.

CONTEXT

U.S. stocks dropped on Tuesday for a fourth straight trading day since Trump’s tariffs announcement last week.

The administration has scheduled talks with South Korea and Japan, two close allies and major trading partners, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is due to visit next week.

Trump’s sweeping tariffs have raised fears of recession and upended a global trading order that has been in place for decades.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler)