White House teases US 'very close' to trade deals with Asian partners as Trump hits 100 days in office

Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent said the U.S. is "very close" to making trade deals with India and other major Asian trade partners on Monday, a development that could reassure markets wobbling amid tariff contests.

Bessent made the statement alongside White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at a Tuesday morning press briefing. The pair outlined President Donald Trump's economic successes in his first 100 days in office and defended his tariff policies amid questions from reporters.

"Vice President Vance was in India last week. I think that he and [Prime Minister] Modi made some very good progress, so I could see some announcements on India. I could see the contours of a deal with the Republic of Korea coming together, and then we've had substantial talks with the Japanese," Bessent said.

"I think that we are very close on India," he reiterated.

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Bessent went on to say that the trade deals will narrow the "aperture of uncertainty" for markets that have been unpredictable since Trump's Liberation Day tariff announcement.

Nevertheless, he added that certainty "isn't necessarily a good thing during a negotiation."

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Tuesday's briefing was the second this week highlighting Trump's successes in his first 100 days. Leavitt also appeared for a Monday morning briefing alongside Border Czar Tom Homan to highlight the administration's efforts to combat illegal immigration.

The administration's ongoing Operation Tidal Wave is the largest deportation operation in American history, the pair said. Leavitt added that it is only the beginning, however, and is a "sign of things to come."

The Trump administration has blasted President Biden's administration for opening the doors to millions of illegal immigrants.

Homan noted that "even President Obama and President Clinton" addressed border security to some extent. But Biden, he said, is the "first president in the history of this nation who came into office and unsecured the border on purpose."

He then went on to tout massive decreases in illegal immigration that Trump has achieved in just a few months.

"When 96% less people are coming [across the border], how many women aren't being sexually assaulted by the cartels?" Homan said. "How many children aren't dying making that journey? How many women and children aren't being sex-trafficked into this country? How many known and suspected terrorists aren't making it into this nation? How many pounds of fentanyl isn't getting into this country to kill young Americans?"