Could there finally be trade certainty by September 1?

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said something interesting on trade on Fox Business today:

“If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18 — there are another important 20 relationships — then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day,” Bessent said

Labor Day falls on September 1 this year.

Now this might be fanciful as the ’90 days in 90 days’ post-Liberation Day plan has completely fallen apart. The US has already laid the groundwork for punting on the July 9 ‘deadline’ as well.

That’s not to say all the deals will be papered and completed but we could at least have an idea on tariff levels without any big risk of surprise. That would certainly be positive for markets even if I find it hard to believe that Trump would ever stop threatening tariffs.

A separate report from Fox Business’ Charlie Gasparino today also indicated that trade deals were near, though he cautioned that had been reported many times before.

It’s also worth flagging that trade remains a big risk and deals or negotiations could blow up with retaliation from partners, particularly on steel and autos.

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.