Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated on Sunday that the U.S. anticipates “10% baseline tariffs to be in place for the foreseeable future” for various countries amid ongoing trade tensions.
“We expect a 10% baseline tariff to remain in effect,” Lutnick mentioned during an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” He added, “But don’t fall for the misleading claims that U.S. consumers will bear the cost.”
“Companies are focused on selling to American consumers, and products made domestically won’t incur that tariff,” he emphasized.
This week, President Trump declared his first country-specific trade agreement with the U.K. The deal comes after the tariffs set on “liberation day” in early April. Under this agreement, the U.K. will export 100,000 cars to the U.S. at a 10% tariff rate, in contrast to the 25% rate announced in late March.
“This is beneficial for the U.K. as well, since they are somewhat limiting imports, and we appreciate that,” Trump remarked on Thursday.
Despite this, Trump’s 10% tariff benchmark on imports from most countries continues to apply to the U.K.
During his appearance on “State of the Union,” Lutnick also touched on tariff negotiations involving Switzerland and China. He noted that “members of the Trump Administration are grappling with it.”
“There’s much to accomplish and issues to resolve. … They are working diligently on it,” he concluded.
