Scott Bessent says countries that fail to make a trade deal with Trump by August will be punished

Countries that haven’t signed a trade deal with President Donald Trump by August 1 are about to get hit with the same brutal tariff rates announced on April 2, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who spoke on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.

Scott confirmed Trump will begin sending letters this week to around a dozen countries, warning them that failure to reach an agreement will bring the full weight of the earlier tariffs crashing back into effect.

Scott said, “President Trump’s going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that if you don’t move things along, then on August 1, you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level.” Those letters are expected to go out Monday.

Trump warns trading partners with Monday letter deadline

Scott made clear that August 1 isn’t a suggestion or another deadline to kick down the road. “We are saying this is when it’s happening,” he said. “If you want to speed things up, have at it. If you want to go back to the old rate, that’s your choice.”

Scott rejected the idea that this was just another extension or political posturing. The 90-day pause that Trump announced in April, after revealing sharp new tariffs on most major partners, expires this Wednesday. The clock is out.

The temporary pause was originally meant to give time for renegotiations. But that window’s closed now. “They’ll start to pay on August 1. The money will start to come into the United States on August 1, in pretty much all cases,” Trump told reporters on Friday. Scott confirmed those payments will start unless something changes this week.

Asked if any deals are close, Scott hinted at movement but didn’t name countries. “I would expect to see several big announcements over the next couple of days,” he said. That would put any major updates right before the Wednesday cutoff.