‘We can do whatever we want': Trump as July deadline for reciprocal tariffs nears; White House hints extension
US President Donald Trump in a White House briefing indicated that the July 9 deadline for reimposing broad US tariffs was not fixed and either it could be moved forward or push back considering the progress in negotiations.
"We can do whatever we want. We could extend it. We could make it shorter. I'd like to make it shorter. I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: Congratulations, you're paying 25 per cent," he informed reporters at the White House.
However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that these deadlines are 'not critical'. 'Perhaps it could be extended, but that's a decision for the president to make,' she was quoted as saying.
In April, Trump introduced a plan to impose reciprocal tariffs on almost all imports. Countries were caught off guard by the steep import tariffs, some reaching nearly 50%, that Trump introduced on what he dubbed 'liberation day.'
It followed high volatile markets, including caution from investors. A week later he granted a 90‑day grace period, until July 8, for other countries to negotiate; after that, tariffs above 10 percent would kick in unless deals are reached.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also hinted the possibility of an extended timeline, saying that agreements might be finalised by the September 1 Labour Day holiday.
"We're seeing strong interest from countries offering solid deals. We've got 18 key trading partners. If we can finalize agreements with 10 or 12 of them, and we're already engaging with another 20 significant economies, we could have trade wrapped up by Labour Day,' Fox Business Network quoted Bessent as saying.
The US has, to date, only succeeded in securing limited trade agreements with China and the United Kingdom as less than two weeks remain for the 3 months halt to be over. According to CNBC, Trump asserted that while the US had managed agreements with 'four or five' countries, there were '200 countries plus' left. Trump stated that in the coming week, the US might send letters to these countries, outlining the costs they would need to bear to conduct business with the US.
Meanwhile, Trump said that a "very big deal" with India is expected to be signed soon, adding that the US signed a trade pact with China. During a programme on his controversial One Big Beautiful Bill, he stated, 'Everybody wants to make a deal and be part of it. We just signed with China yesterday. We have one coming up—maybe with India. A very big one, where we are going to open up India. In the China deal, we are trying to open up China.'
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal too on June 10 had mentioned that both India and US were in the middle of negotiating a fair and equitable trade deal, ANI reported.
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