This would be the baseline level seen by many smaller countries that do not have significant trade imbalances or barriers with the United States.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on July 20 that the United States is still aiming to leave a 10 percent baseline tariff on many smaller countries, despite recent comments from President Donald Trump that suggested the tariff level could be higher.
Lutnick told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on July 20 that the Trump administration was not looking to increase the 10 percent baseline tariff level it imposed on many smaller nations in early April, when other larger U.S. trading partners saw reciprocal tariffs as high as 50 percent.
“You should assume that the small countries, the Latin American countries, the Caribbean countries, many countries in Africa, they will have a baseline tariff of 10 percent,” he said.
After President Donald Trump had suggested recently that baseline tariff rates could exceed 15 or 20 percent, Lutnick’s comments on July 20 gave some relief to those hoping for smaller baseline levies on nations without significant trade imbalances or non-tariff barriers with the United States.
Trump sent letters to dozens of nations earlier in July, informing them of their tariff levels if they do not negotiate better trade deals with his administration by Aug. 1.
Lutnick told CBS that “bigger economies will either open themselves up or they’ll pay a fair tariff to America.”
He also suggested that Aug. 1 would be a hard deadline, particularly since Trump had initially given a 90-day extension to his early April tariffs, effectively granting U.S. trading partners until July 9 to negotiate deals.
Many saw the Aug. 1 date as a second extension, despite denials from the administration.
Lutnick said no country could “negotiate away” tariffs entirely, and that virtually all U.S. trading partners would see a tariff of some kind on their imports into the United States.
“Ten percent is definitely going to stay,” he said. “Many countries will pay higher.”
By Jacob Burg
