Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was adamant Sunday that the Aug. 1 date President Trump gave Europe to negotiate new trade arrangements is a “hard deadline.’’
“So on Aug. 1, the new tariff rates will come in. But nothing stops countries from talking to us after Aug. 1, but they’re going to start paying the tariffs on Aug. 1,” Lutnick told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” when asked about the European Union, whose representatives he was on the phone with before the interview.
“That’s a hard deadline,” the Trump official said.
The president has shifted his deadline several times. On April 2, “Liberation Day,” he debuted his customized rates, which were supposed to go into effect April 9. They it got pushed 90 days and then to Aug. 1.
Trump has threatened to slap a 30% tariff rate against the EU and a flurry of customized tariff rates on other countries that fail to cut a new deal with him. Those tariffs come on top of the 10% baseline tax against virtually all countries.
Despite the fast-approaching deadline, Lutnick conveyed confidence that the US and EU will come to some sort of arrangement.
“There’s plenty of room. Look, the president and the European Union, these are the two biggest trading partners in the world talking to each other. We’ll get a deal done. I am confident we’ll get a deal done,” the commerce secretary said.
“You are going to see the best set of trade deals you’ve ever seen for America and for the American people.”
Lutnick also stressed that the 10% baseline tariff rate is “definitely going to stay” amid negotiations.
So far, the Trump administration has announced tariff deals with the United Kingdom and Vietnam as well as a tariff truce with China, which Trump claims is subject to a 55% rate.
“The next two weeks are going to be weeks for the record books. President Trump is going to deliver for the American people,” he said.
In addition to the baseline tariffs and levies on imports from China, the Trump administration has imposed 25% tariffs on automobiles, aluminum, steel and imports from Canada and Mexico that don’t comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Trump has threatened to raise that to 35% against Canada and 30% for Mexico.
This month, he has been blasting out letters to smaller US trading partners urging them to get a deal done or face the “Liberation Day” tariffs.
But Lutnick indicated that many of the smaller countries may simply face the 10% baseline rate while the Trump administration focuses on retooling trade with larger nations.
“I think what you’ve got is you should assume that the small countries, you know, the Latin American countries, the Caribbean countries, many countries in Africa, they will have a baseline tariff of 10%,” Lutnick said.
“Then the bigger economies will either open themselves up or they’ll pay a fair tariff to America for not opening themselves up and [for] treating America unfairly.”
