Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said President Donald Trump’s Aug. 1 tariff deadline would not change.
Tariffs on dozens of countries are set to go into effect this Friday, Aug. 1. Since becoming president, Trump has frequently delayed tariff deadlines and changed the proposed rates, making the policy one of his most unpredictable plans. Lutnick suggested that would not be the case this time.
“No extensions. No more grace periods. Aug. 1, the tariffs are set. They’ll go into place,” Lutnick said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Lutnick noted that further negotiations were a possibility and that deals could be made after that deadline.
Trump has also said the new Aug. 1 deadline is “firm but not 100% firm.”
Trump delayed his April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs less than a week after they were implemented, setting a 90-day freeze to cap most tariffs at 10% until July 9. The Trump administration then said they were executing “90 deals in 90 days.” Around a dozen deals with countries have been announced since then, and many of the details of the deals haven’t been announced.
Trump later sent counties letters increasing, decreasing, or keeping in place their tariff rate. These are set to go into effect this week.
NINETY DEALS IN 90 DAYS: TRUMP’S TARIFF PAUSE CLOUDS ‘LIBERATION DAY’ ECONOMIC FORECAST
Most recently, Trump announced trade deals had been agreed to with Japan and Indonesia, and signaled agreements are coming soon with Cambodia and Thailand. He had a call with both Southeast Asian countries as a border conflict erupted this week, saying he would conclude the trade negotiations after a ceasefire had been agreed to.
Trump suggested the trade deal with Japan is “perhaps the largest Deal ever made.” Japan agreed to pay a 15% tariff on American products, invest $550 billion into the U.S., and open its economy to new imports