U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke on tariffs this morning at an ongoing event. Before diving into banking regulation, the subject of the Q&A, Secretary Bessent touched on some key points on reciprocal tariffs.

Key points:
- Secretary Bessent said if nations do not retaliate, the original tariff levels “will be the ceiling.”
- Secretary Bessent will be taking point on all negotiations with nations on tariffs.
- ~8 different nations are now lined up for negotiations in the near term. Vietnam’s delegation was specifically mentioned, as was Japan and South Korea.
- U.S. President Trump had a “very good call” with South Korean decision-makers yesterday on the subject of tariffs.