"Fire Chief" goes online! US Secretary of the Treasury says Asia trade agreement is expected to be announced gradually after Trump's tariff threat.

US Treasury Secretary Benson said in an interview on Friday that the US is expected to reach new trade agreements with multiple countries before the end of the 90-day "equivalent" tariff grace period announced by President Trump on April 2. "These agreements are moving quickly, and I believe as we approach the 90-day deadline, more and more agreements will be announced," Benson said. "Many Asian countries have proposed very sincere agreements." Benson emphasized that most of the US trading partners are negotiating in "very good faith," with the exception of the European Union. Earlier that day, Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on EU goods starting on June 1, citing "no progress in negotiations with the EU." "I think the President's statement is mainly in response to the pace of negotiations with the EU," Benson said. "I hope this puts pressure on the EU to speed up." Currently, Benson is the main representative of the Trump administration in trade negotiations with multiple Asian countries, while negotiations with the EU are led by Secretary of Commerce Lutnick. Benson reiterated that the slow progress in EU negotiations is due to the large number of member countries, requiring coordination to reach a unified position, thus facing a "collective action dilemma." When asked which countries could reach agreements in the coming weeks, Benson did not disclose a specific list, but pointed out, "Our negotiations with India are progressing quite smoothly." He also mentioned that the so-called "liberation day" tariff plan announced by Trump on April 2 is based on "whether countries are willing to negotiate in good faith." Benson had previously stated that these tariff levels are maximums and would only trigger higher rates if retaliatory tariffs are imposed by the other country. It is worth noting that the EU had originally been set a tariff of 20% last month, much lower than the 50% tax rate threat proposed by Trump this week. In addition, when discussing the tax reform bill passed by the House earlier this week, Benson said that Senate Majority Leader Tan plans to "push forward immediately" with the bill and expects that there will not be much need to modify the existing text.