Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that the United States anticipates “a 10 percent baseline tariff to be in place for the foreseeable future” for countries across the globe amid trade tensions.
“We do expect a 10 percent baseline tariff to be in place for the foreseeable future,” Lutnick told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” “But don’t buy the silly arguments that the U.S. consumer pays.”
“Businesses, their job is to try to sell to the American consumer, and domestically produced products are not going to have that tariff,” he added.
President Trump this week announced a trade agreement with the U.K., a first country-specific deal in the wake of his “Liberation Day” tariffs in early April. Included in the deal is the U.S letting the U.K export 100,000 cars at a 10-percent tariff rate instead of a 25-percent tariff rate announced in late March.
“This is now turning out, I think, really to be a great deal for both countries, because it will be really great for the U.K. also. So, they’re opening up the country; their country is a little closed, and we appreciate that,” Trump said on Thursday.
However, as part of the deal, Trump’s 10-percent benchmark tariff on imports for most nations remains for the U.K.
During the first few months of his second term, Trump’s tariff policy has strained relationships with trading partners around the world, including allies such as the European Union and Canada.
Lutnick also discussed tariff talks with China in Switzerland during his “State of the Union” appearance, saying that Trump administration members “are hard at it.”
“There’s a lot to accomplish, there’s both a lot to take care of and get off the table, and … they’re working hard at it,” he added.
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