U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick offered a timely update on America’s trade deal with China, saying it’s likely that President Donald Trump would extend the trade deadline by another 90 days.
When asked by FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Thursday whether the trade truce deadline will be extended, he responded, “I do.”
“I think we’re going to leave that to the trade team and to the president to make those decisions. But it feels likely that they’re going to come to an agreement and extend that for another 90 days. But I’ll leave it to that team,” Lutnick said on “Mornings with Maria.”
DEM SENATOR AGREES WITH G.O.P. THAT TRUMP’S MAKING PROGRESS ON TRADE WAR
“I think the president said yesterday everything’s on the table. You know, he thinks of his role as the peacemaker in the world and the creator of opportunity for America,” the secretary added. “And he’s going to use all the tools in his toolbox to use it. And he hasn’t ruled anything out. So the president signaled progress on a China deal.”
He also detailed a proposed 40% trans-shipment levy against China, to crack down on transferring cargo through other countries to avoid applicable duties.
“So we set a tariff on Vietnam of 20%, but that’s for Vietnamese goods. If some other country, let’s say China, wants to send things to Vietnam and have Vietnam then sell them to America, that comes with 40%,” Lutnick explained. “Let’s stop this nonsense of sending it through other countries.”
Lutnick’s comments come the same day as Trump’s higher import taxes on dozens of countries went into effect, just as the economic impact of his earlier tariffs had started to show visible harm to the U.S. economy.
The new broad tariffs went into effect just after midnight on Thursday, going as high as 50%. They come after some major trading partners have reached framework deals for trade and investment concessions with Trump.
The White House said goods from more than 60 countries and the European Union would face tariff rates of 10% or higher. Products from Japan, South Korea and the European Union will be taxed at 15% and imports from Taiwan, Vietnam, Bangladesh and others will be levied at 20%. Britain will only be taxed at a 10% rate.
Last month, the U.S. economy gained about $30 billion in tariff revenue, Lutnick stated, which is now expected to increase to an approximate $50 billion per month under the new levies.
“As the president says, this could continue to head towards, and ultimately reach, a trillion dollars,” Lutnick said. “These are amazing numbers for the United States of America, and no one’s retaliating. Everybody understands you’ve got to sell to the American consumer. The American consumer is the most powerful factor [on] the Earth for the economy, and Donald Trump is harnessing it for the benefit of the American people.”
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FOX Business’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.
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