Trump's Treasury Secretary suggests August 1 trade deal deadline doesn't matter one day after Commerce Secretary calls it a ‘hard deadline'
'The important thing here is the quality of the deal, not the timing of the deals,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Monday, arguing the president's tariff threats had created 'maximum leverage as only he can do' for countries to swiftly reach trade deals with the U.S.
'Our trading partners were told that the rates could boomerang back toward the April 2nd levels,' he added. 'We can continue talking then. But again, we're proceeding apace with the negotiations, but we're not going to rush for the sake of doing deals.'
Other Trump officials have described the August 1 deadline, when U.S. trading partners could face up to 40 percent tariffs, as a firmer cutoff point.
'That's a hard deadline, so on August 1, the new tariff rates will come in,' Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS News on Sunday. 'Nothing stops countries from talking to us after August 1, but they're going to start paying the tariffs on August 1.'
The president, for his part, has called the deadline " firm but not 100 percent firm.'
Throughout July, the Trump administration has written letters to foreign leaders warning of the coming tariffs, expected to include a 35 percent tariff rate against Canada, a major U.S. trading partner, and a 30 percent rate for the European Union and Mexico.
Since being unveiled in April, Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff agenda has been repeatedly delayed, and the administration has conceded it won't achieve its original promise of 90 trade deals in 90 days.
'There's 200 countries,'' the president said earlier this month. 'You can't talk to all of them.''
The president's hesitancy to fully implement the tariffs has prompted critics of the president to deem the tariff agenda the 'TACO' plan, for 'Trump always chickens out.'
The markets ' shrugged' off Trump's move to push back the tariffs to August, Carolyn Kissane, a professor at NYU's School of Professional Studies Center for Global Affairs, told The Independent earlier this month, compared to the initial market plunge when the tariffs were first revealed.
'The pattern is familiar: dramatic declarations, walk-backs, and renewed threats. It's eroded his credibility and resembles the boy who cried wolf,' Kissane added. 'He believes this tactic gives him a unique leverage to negotiate, but it also weakens the threats.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
5 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump's EPA targets key health ruling underpinning all US greenhouse gas rules
WASHINGTON, July 29 (Reuters) - The Trump administration said on Tuesday it will rescind the long-standing finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, removing the legal foundation for all U.S. greenhouse gas regulations. If finalized, the repeal would end current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from vehicle tailpipes, power plants, smokestacks and other sources, and hamper future U.S. efforts to combat global warming. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency's plan to rescind the "endangerment finding" at an event at a car dealership in Indiana, alongside Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and called it the largest deregulatory action in U.S. history. The proposal, which needs to undergo a public comment period, would cut $54 billion in costs annually through the repeal of all greenhouse gas standards, including the vehicle tailpipe standard, he said. Under President Joe Biden, the EPA said the tailpipe rules through 2032 would avoid more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions as it prodded automakers to build more EVs and provide nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society including $62 billion in reduced fuel costs, and maintenance and repair costs for drivers. Environmental groups blasted the move, saying it spells the end of the road for U.S. action against climate change, even as the impacts of global warming become more severe. "With today's announcement, the EPA is telling us in no uncertain terms that U.S. efforts to address climate change are over. For the industries that contribute most to climate change, the message is 'pollute more.' For everyone feeling the pain of climate disasters, the message is 'you're on our own,'" said Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice. The move is expected to trigger legal challenges, according to several environmental groups, states and lawyers. Zeldin said a 2024 Supreme Court decision that reduced the power of federal agencies to interpret the laws they administer, known as the Chevron deference, means that the EPA does not have the ability to regulate greenhouse gases. "We do not have that power on our own to decide as an agency that we are going to combat global climate change because we give ourselves that power," Zeldin said. He added that if Congress decides it wants to amend the federal Clean Air Act to explicitly state the U.S. should regulate carbon dioxide, methane and other planet-warming gases, the EPA would follow its lead. The endangerment finding's roots date back to 2009, when the EPA under former Democratic President Barack Obama issued a finding that emissions from new motor vehicles contribute to pollution and endanger public health and welfare. That assessment followed a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision in its landmark Massachusetts v. EPA case that said the EPA has the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and required the agency to make a scientific finding on whether those emissions endanger public health. The endangerment finding was upheld in several legal challenges and underpinned subsequent greenhouse gas regulations, ranging from tailpipe standards for vehicles, carbon dioxide standards for aircraft, and methane standards for oil and gas operations. Zeldin and Wright challenged the global scientific consensus on climate change that global warming and its impacts have since been unfolding faster than expected and that policymakers need to step up action to curb global greenhouse gas emissions. They also contradict the advisory opinion issued last week by the International Court of Justice, which said failure by governments to reduce emissions could be an internationally wrongful act, and found that treaties such as the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change should be considered legally binding. The administration has already dismissed all authors of the U.S. National Climate Assessment, which detailed climate change impacts across the country. "Now the public is open to engage in a thoughtful dialogue about what is climate change? It is a real physical phenomenon. It's worthy of study. It's worthy of even some action, but what we have done instead is nothing related to the actual science of climate change or pragmatic ways to make progress," Wright said. Zeldin said on a podcast earlier Tuesday that the endangerment finding never acknowledged "any benefit or need for carbon dioxide." Industry reaction was limited on Tuesday, with some trade groups weighing in and some companies remaining quiet. American Trucking Associations welcomed the announcement, saying that Biden-era vehicle emissions standards "put the trucking industry on a path to economic ruin and would have crippled our supply chain," said its president, Chris Spear. Ford (F.N), opens new tab said in a statement that Biden-created tailpipe standards did "not align with the market," and America needs "a single, stable standard to foster business planning." "The standard should align with science and customer choice, reduce carbon emissions by getting more stringent over time, and grow American manufacturing," Ford said. Other automakers Toyota (7203.T), opens new tab, GM (GM.N), opens new tab, Stellantis ( opens new tab declined to comment. Marty Durbin, president of the Global Energy Institute at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said it welcomed the administration's focus on affordable energy but said it is still weighing the proposal. "While we did not call for this proposal, we are reviewing it and will consult with members so we can provide constructive feedback to the agency,' he said. California Air Resources Board chair Liane Randolph said the EPA move chooses "polluter fantasyland over proven science. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the planet continues to suffer the consequences of unchecked carbon pollution."
Reuters
5 minutes ago
- Reuters
Harvard to comply with Trump administration demand to turn over employment forms
WASHINGTON, July 29 (Reuters) - Harvard University said on Tuesday it will comply with the demands of President Donald Trump's administration to turn over employment forms for thousands of university staff, but for the time being was not sharing records for those employed in roles only available to students. In an email to university employees sent on Tuesday, Harvard said that earlier this month it received a notice of inspection and a related subpoena from the Department of Homeland Security, seeking to inspect the I-9, or Employment Eligibility Verification, forms and supporting documentation for university employees. The I-9 forms, from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, are used to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for work in the U.S., according to the agency's website. Harvard said federal regulations entitle the government to access a U.S. employer's paperwork, including information on employment eligibility. Harvard has been embroiled in a legal fight with the Trump administration to have its billions of dollars of frozen federal funds restored. It sued the Trump administration earlier this year. The president has threatened universities with federal funding cuts over pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel's war in Gaza, climate initiatives, transgender policies and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Rights advocates have raised concerns over free speech, due process and academic freedom. Harvard said that, for now, it was not sharing records with the government for people employed in roles only available to students as it was determining if such a request complied with privacy protection requirements. The New York Times reported on Monday that Harvard was open to spending up to $500 million to end its dispute with the government. That amount was more than twice what Columbia University agreed to pay last week to resolve federal probes. The newspaper said negotiators were still discussing the financial details of the Harvard deal and that Harvard opposed allowing an outside monitor to oversee the deal. On Monday, the government initiated a probe into Duke University and the Duke Law Journal to determine if the journal's selection of its editors gave preferences to candidates from minority communities. On Tuesday, the government said it notified Duke of a freeze of $109 million in federal funds. Separately it alleged that the University of California, Los Angeles violated federal civil rights law. Both Duke and UCLA had no immediate comment.
Reuters
5 minutes ago
- Reuters
South Korea finance chief joins last-ditch push for U.S. trade deal
SEOUL, July 30 (Reuters) - Three South Korean cabinet-level officials met U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington in a push to close a trade deal, Seoul said on Wednesday, squaring off with a key U.S. official driving a hard bargain just ahead of a deadline. South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol joined Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo, who have been in Washington since last week, for two hours of talks with Lutnick, a ministry spokesperson said in Seoul. The finance ministry spokesperson did not offer details of the discussions. U.S. President Donald Trump has set an August 1 deadline for 25% tariffs to kick in against South Korea, a major U.S. ally and powerhouse exporter of chips, autos and steel. The latest meeting came amid a Wall Street Journal report that Lutnick had urged the South Korean team to bring their best and final offer to the table during a meeting he had with Kim and Yeo in Scotland. Lutnick told the South Korean officials they need to "bring it all" when they make their final offer to Trump, the report said. Koo, who arrived in Washington on Tuesday, has said he hopes to convince the United States the package of trade and related offers of industrial cooperation, including in shipbuilding, was to the allies' mutual benefit. Koo also plans to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during the visit. Pressure has been mounting on South Korea since Japan clinched a deal to cut Trump's threatened tariffs to 15% last week. This was followed by a U.S.-EU trade deal over the weekend, and Trump's top aides, including Bessent, are now working to close a deal with China. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will also travel to Washington this week to assist with the tariff negotiations.
