Bessent sees trade deal likely with China before November deadline on reciprocal tariffs

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed confidence Tuesday that a trade deal with China is near.

With so-called reciprocal tariffs set to take effect in November, Bessent said during a CNBC interview that he expects further talks to happen before then.

“We’ll be seeing each other again,” he said during a wide-ranging exchange on “Squawk Box. “Each one of those talks has become more and more productive. I think the Chinese now sense that a trade deal is possible.”

The statement comes with talks taking a series of twists and turns since Trump announced his initial “liberation day” duties on U.S. global trading partners April 2.

Under the initial move, China would have faced tariffs up to 145%, but those were suspended as talks continued. An initial pause on reciprocal tariffs was to expire on Aug. 12, but Trump extended the suspension to Nov. 10.

Bessent said he has been told by U.S. trading partners that “Chinese goods are flooding their markets, and they don’t know what to do about it. They’re slightly apoplectic that these goods are coming in.”

The U.S. had a nearly $300 billion trade deficit with China in 2024. That’s on pace to decline significantly in 2025 and was at $128 billion through July.

Bessent noted that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer expects the deficit “will narrow by at least 30% this year and probably more in 2026.”

“So the idea here is to come into balance, to have fair trade,” he said.