Trump’s America First Trade Plans Just Proved the ‘Experts’ Dead Wrong [WATCH]

With President Donald Trump’s April 2 reciprocal tariff deadline approaching, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that several nations are already moving toward negotiations to lower their trade barriers against American goods.

“Going into April 2, some of our worst trading partners in terms of the way they treat us have already come to President Trump offering… substantial decreases in very unfair tariffs,” Bessent stated during an exclusive interview on Mornings with Maria on Tuesday.

Trump’s reciprocal tariff plan, signed last month, is designed to level the playing field for U.S. exports by imposing tariffs on nations that place high tariffs or restrictions on American products.

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Though specific details of the levies have not been disclosed, the president made it clear in a post on Truth Social that countries can avoid tariffs by adjusting their own policies.

“If a Country feels that the United States would be getting too high a Tariff, all they have to do is reduce or terminate their Tariff against us. There are no Tariffs if you manufacture or build your product in the United States,” Trump stated.

Bessent expressed optimism that agreements may be reached before the deadline, potentially preventing the full implementation of tariffs.

“I’m optimistic that, April 2, some of the tariffs may not have to go on because a deal is pre-negotiated,” he said.

“Or that once countries receive their reciprocal tariff number, that, right after that, they will come to us and want to negotiate it down.”

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The administration has identified certain nations with particularly restrictive trade policies, which Bessent referred to as “the dirty 15.”

These countries impose significant tariffs or other trade barriers, including regulations unrelated to product safety or quality.

“And then there’s what we would call kind of, ‘the dirty 15,’ and they have substantial tariffs,” Bessent said, adding that “as important as a tariff or some of these non-tariff barriers” are, some of these nations enforce domestic production requirements and product testing measures that “bear no resemblance to safety or anything that we do to their products.”

Economists generally agree that tariffs function as a tax on imported goods, typically paid by the importing company, which may pass the cost on to consumers through higher prices.

However, Trump administration officials have repeatedly dismissed concerns that the proposed tariffs will negatively impact American jobs or the economy.

With the deadline fast approaching, the administration continues to push for trade fairness, urging foreign governments to reconsider their policies before facing potential reciprocal tariffs from the U.S.

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