Bessent: "Highly likely" tariff deadline will slide for countries in talks

• It's also another sign for financial markets that they shouldn't expect any kind of certainty anytime soon.

Catch up quick: President Trump imposed sweeping global tariffs on April 2, then paused most of them on April 9 for a negotiating window, during which the administration promised 90 deals in 90 days.

• With less than 30 days to go, there's one framework deal (with the UK), one extension (with the EU) and one twice-negotiated but not-final extension and de-escalation (with China).
• The clock is ticking on the rest.

What they're saying: Bessent, in testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, said the July 8 deadline to make deals or re-impose April's "Liberation Day" tariffs could slide.

• "There are 18 important trading partners. We are working toward deals on those, and it is highly likely that those countries — or trading blocs, as in the case of the EU — who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue good faith negotiations," Bessent said.
• "If someone is not negotiating, then we will not."

The intrigue: Bessent did not say how long those extensions would be.

• The EU already got one extra day versus the other countries on the April reciprocal tariff list, while China received an extra five weeks.

Between the lines: It's also not clear where talks stand.

• There have been reports this week of progress with Canada, India and Japan, though no deals or deal frameworks.

The bottom line: The only certainty is uncertainty.