Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressed confidence Sunday that the Trump administration will cut trade deals with key U.S. trading partners in the coming weeks — before steep tariffs kick in for dozens of countries.

Mr Bessent said the Stockholm meetings would take place on July 28 and July 29. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

April 9: Trump's higher "reciprocal tariffs" begin just after midnight. Hours later, the president says he is issuing a 90-day pause on those duties, except for China. Trump raises tariffs on Chinese goods from 104% to 145%, the highest rate so far this year.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that he will meet his Chinese counterpart next week in Stockholm and discuss what is likely to be an extension of an August 12 deadline for a deal to avert sharply higher tariffs.

With less than two weeks to go before country-specific tariffs could rise sharply, the Trump administration is drawing a lot of questions about what’s ahead.

White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said Sunday that "rough outlines of the deals are becoming clear" ahead of a key tariff deadline this week.

The Trump administration is more concerned with the quality of trade agreements rather than their timing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline for securing a trade deal or facing steep tariffs.

This week’s Fresh Take also looks at tariff-proof yaupon tea, an L.A. fire survivor’s insurance nightmare, a farmworker’s death in connection to an ICE raid and more.