(NewsNation) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said tariff negotiations are going “very well” with the United States’ Asian trading partners, despite a standstill with China.
He cited negotiations with the Republic of Korea, India and Japan, calling the talks “substantial” in a social media post.
“We are continuing to make substantive movement on negotiations with many of our trading partners,” Bessent’s post read in part.
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Bessent’s comments were punctuated by fluctuating stocks in Asia on Monday. Stock markets remained mixed late Monday morning, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng at 21,971.96, down 0.04%. Shanghai followed suit as stocks slipped 0.2%.
Meanwhile, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index jumped 0.38% to 35,839.99.
Bessent’s post came less than a week after Vice President JD Vance visited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to talk trade deals.
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President Donald Trump has promised that multiple tariff agreements are on the horizon, but the tit-for-tat is ongoing with China — which faces the harshest tariffs and has the most power to yield over the U.S.
On Sunday, Bessent said he didn’t know whether Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had discussed tariffs or begun negotiations on trade.
