U.S. tariffs will return to ‘Liberation Day’ levels on Aug. 1, if no trade deals are reached by then, Bessent says

US tariffs will kick in on August 1 if trading partners from Taiwan to the European Union do not strike deals with Washington, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday.

The rates will “boomerang back” to the sometimes very high levels which President Donald Trump had announced on April 2 — before he suspended the levies to allow for trade talks and set a July 9 deadline for agreement, Bessent told CNN.

Bessent confirmed comments by Trump to reporters aboard Air Force One...