President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a news conference Thursday to announce a major trade deal with what he described as a "big, and highly respected, country." The announcement is expected in the Oval Office at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT).
Trump shared the forthcoming announcement on Truth Social Wednesday, characterizing it as the first of potentially many such agreements. He did not name the country involved or provide further specifics ahead of the planned event.
The announcement follows a period of intense activity from the administration regarding trade relationships. Since imposing new tariffs on many countries in April, the president's top officials have engaged in ongoing meetings with trading partners. Some initial higher tariff rates were paused some of his tariffs for 90 days to facilitate negotiations.
While Trump has implemented various tariffs, including rates on autos, steel, aluminum, Canada, Mexico, and China, administration officials have offered differing perspectives on the timeline for new agreements. Trade adviser Peter Navarro previously spoke of potentially "90 deals in 90 days," a target that proved overly ambitious.
More recently, the president himself indicated frustration with persistent questions about the speed of reaching agreements, stating that deals take time and the substance of the agreement is paramount. He reviewed potential pacts over the past two weeks and has mentioned having "potential" trade deals with India, South Korea and Japan.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is scheduled for a planned meeting with Chinese officials, which he described as an early phase of negotiations, distinct from more advanced talks with other nations. The U.S. applied a significant tariff rate across all products from China.
The administration has asserted that the use of tariffs, levied under an emergency declaration, provides leverage to win concessions on duties and non-tariff barriers. This approach aims to achieve favorable terms without necessarily requiring immediate congressional approval for every change.
Secretary Bessent recently testified that the administration is negotiating with 17 of the 18 most important trading partners. He suggested that a significant majority of those relationships could see agreements wrapped up by the end of the year, while noting some announcements could come sooner.
"There are 18 very important trading relationships, and we are currently negotiating with 17 of those trading partners," Bessent told lawmakers. "Approximately 97 or 98% of our trade deficit is with 15 countries, 18% of the countries are our major trading partners. And I would be surprised if we don’t have more than 80 or 90% of those wrapped up by the end of the year, and that may be much sooner."
