Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to begin trade talks with Chinese counterparts in Geneva this weekend. Investors are on edge about what he will achieve.Credit…Nathan Howard/Reuters
Big deal
President Trump can finally point to a trade deal with a major ally, Britain. But now comes the tricky part: Can he strike similar agreements with other countries?
More crucially, what will his administration gain from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s talks with Chinese counterparts scheduled for this weekend in Geneva?
The White House will enter the meetings under enormous pressure. The S&P 500 has rallied more than 13 percent over the past month on investor hopes that Trump will dial back his protectionist agenda, as companies warn that the trade war will eat into profits and force them to raise prices.
Trump sought to spin the deal with Britain as a turning point. “You better go out and buy stock now,” he said on Thursday at a news briefing. The two countries agreed to bolster business ties. One example: IAG, the parent company of British Airways, said it would order new long-haul aircraft, including 32 from Boeing. (The Times breaks down the rest here.)
But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sounded less bullish, saying of negotiations with Japan and South Korea — which are widely seen as countries the U.S. is likeliest to reach accords with next — “these are not going to be fast deals.” And Bessent has similarly warned that a full-fledged China deal could take years to pull off.
Keep in mind these caveats about the British accord: It’s a framework agreement that’s light on details, is far from finalized and has been in the works since Trump’s first term.
