National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, with FNC’s “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo, delivered an update on the Trump administration’s ongoing trade negotiations with 24 countries, plus a total “from scratch” reboot of trade relations with China. “They all look a little bit like the U.K. deal. But each one is bespoke. Each one’s a little bit different,” he said. “We’re essentially starting over, starting from scratch with the Chinese. And they seem to think that they really want to rebuild a relationship that’s great for both of us.”

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I want to begin with these talks in China. Tell us what specifically you would like to see. What would be a victory? What is the best outcome that we can expect between China and the United States? KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Well, first of all, as the president said, it looks like there’s a tremendous amount of progress being made. I expect that the president will announce at the end of the trade talks exactly what’s happening. But we have got a whole team over there getting updates during the talks to make sure that everybody in the White House, all the senior leadership know exactly what’s going on and have a chance to interact with everybody over there as well. I could say that what’s going to happen, in all likelihood, is that relationships are going to be rebooted. It looks like the Chinese are very, very eager to play ball and to renormalize things. And so what exactly goes on and off the table is in the negotiation right now. So I have to be careful giving specifics. But the president has said that we’re essentially starting over, starting from scratch with the Chinese. And they seem to think that they really want to rebuild a relationship that’s great for both of us. BARTIROMO: That would be wonderful. So do you think the president obviously wants to see the Chinese buying more American products? Because we buy more of their products right now. But will it also have to do with other things, like some of the currency manipulation or the spying and the surveillance, the, of course, fentanyl, COVID cover-up, any of the other non-tariff barriers? HASSETT: I think that the Chinese have brought their A-team to these negotiations. They have got the competence to cover all the topic areas that you have discussed in the room. And we have got Scott Bessent and Jamieson Greer, two of the best of the business. And so we will see what happens. But I think that everybody is interested in putting enough on the table so that we make a lot of progress this weekend. BARTIROMO: Scott Bessent about a week ago said he would not be surprised to see a multitude of deals announced this upcoming week. And, of course, the president just announced the U.K. deal last week. Should we be looking at that trade arrangement as something of a blueprint, a precedent of how he’s dealing with other countries? HASSETT: Sure. Yes, it absolutely is a really exciting blueprint for what we’re going to be doing. And Howard Lutnick has briefed me on about 24 deals that he and Jamieson have been working on. And they all look a little bit like the U.K. deal. But each one is bespoke. Each one’s a little bit different, because different countries have different things that they have been doing wrong to us, different things they care a lot about. And so, for example, there was the U.K. auto issue, where there ended up being a quota. And that was something they really cared a lot about. And by yielding on that, we got a whole lot for American farmers. We opened up the U.K. for the first time ever for beef farmers, which they really, really love. And so, yes, it’s going to be a little bit different, but the basic idea is, everybody wants to have a deal and everybody wants to make a deal soon. And so you’re right. You’re going to see a lot more deals in the weeks to come, next two weeks. BARTIROMO: And as soon as this week? HASSETT: I would expect so, yes. I mean, there are a whole bunch of things that are very, very close to the finish line. In the end, the president has to decide if he likes the deal or not. There’s a great story where I thought the deal was fantastic, and then the president’s like, I can make the deal better, and he got an extra billion in agreement of the U.K. buying our stuff on the phone by calling Starmer. So my guess is that the president’s going to make the last phone call for each one, because he is the best dealmaker in the world, and he’s going to add a little bit at the end, I would expect.

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