White House aide encourages countries to approach Trump with offers to cut tariffs

By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House economic adviser Stephen Miran on Monday encouraged countries hoping to escape high reciprocal U.S. tariff rates to make offers to President Donald Trump, saying the president would welcome moves to lower barriers to U.S. exports.

Miran told an event hosted by the Hudson Institute think tank that services, where the U.S. has a strong advantage, were also important, but the United States had gotten out of balance with regard to manufacturing.

Asked about news that Trump had asked Secretary Scott Bessent to lead negotiations with Japan and whether a deal would be possible before the tariffs took effect on April 9, Miran said he could not say if any deals were possible before then.

"There's a variety of improvements that could take place, but at the end of the day, the president is the decider and he is going to decide," he said, underscoring Trump's previous success in negotiating trade agreements, including with China.

Miran acknowledged that key members of Trump's team, including trade adviser Peter Navarro, had explicitly said the process now underway was "not a negotiation," but downplayed the significance of those differences.

"So there are conflicting narratives because, you know, everybody, everybody's got an opinion, and that's fine," he said. "Disagreement is how you can, sort of, you know, enhance your arguments."

Miran told reporters after the event that the economy's adjustment could take some time, but declined to give a specific timeline, noting that deregulation and tax cuts still needed to be enacted, which would also take time.

"The administration's made historic progress in its first few months alone, but the truth is there's a huge amount of work left to do. There are all sorts .... of laws that you have to follow in the rulemaking process, and that takes time."

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Chris Reese and Alistair Bell)