White House National Economic Council (NEC) director Kevin Hassett acknowledged in a CNBC interview on Thursday that the bond market may have contributed to U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pause most of his tariffs. "We have set up a process so that tariff deals can be orderly," he added. The official, however, noted that the 10% global tariff that is still in place will be the baseline, and it will take an extraordinary deal for Trump to lower that.
Hassett also unveiled there's a big inventory of deals that are right close to the finish line while conversations on China have not begun yet. According to the NEC director, the U.S. have offers from 15 countries and a lot of movement with world leaders is expected in the next 3-4 weeks.
Hassett also said he expects the U.S. Congress to pass a reconciliation bill well before the August recess. He added that the timeline has not changed due to tariffs.