Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says Aug. 1 date for EU tariffs is 'hard deadline'
July 21 (UPI) -- The United States appears firm on its slated tariff increase on the European Union following comments made by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over the weekend.
Lutnick told CBS News' Face the Nation the Aug. 1 deadline President Donald Trump has placed on the EU is a "hard deadline."
"So on Aug. 1, the new tariff rates will come in," he said. "Nothing stops countries from talking to us after August 1, but they're going to start paying the tariffs on Aug. 1."
If the United States does follow through, it would place a 30% baseline tariff on the EU at the deadline.
Trump has sent letters to several countries that warn increased tariffs between 20% and 50% will begin Aug. 1 unless new trade deals are achieved.
The EU was the United States largest trading partner last year, when the 27-country bloc traded over $975 billion worth of goods, more than with any single nation.
Lutnick also expressed doubt that tariffs could lead to inflation, that he thinks prices will be "low, shockingly low," and that "You're going to see inflation is not going to change."
The EU was set to enforce tariffs on U.S. goods earlier this month in retaliation for a 25% tariff imposed by Trump on all steel and aluminum imports, but European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced last week those levies have been paused until Aug. 1 to allow for more time to negotiate.
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