As the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs ends, the White House says Trump can „pick“ what rate will apply to each country.
President Donald Trump may unilaterally decide the tariff rates that countries will face if they fail to strike a deal by the end of the 90-day pause on reciprocal duties, according to the White House.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt commented on the imminent end to the pause announced on April 9. Leavitt said that the July 9 deadline was „not critical“ and could be extended, before stating that Trump may decide on the rates applied to each country’s imports himself.
„The president can simply provide these countries with a deal if they refuse to make us one by the deadline“, Leavitt said. „And that means the president can pick a reciprocal tariff rate that he believes is advantageous for the United States and for the American worker.“Why It Matters
Since the pause on reciprocal tariffs was placed, only days after Trump unveiled them on April 2, the administration has been working to solidify deals with its most critical trading partners. However, besides one with the United Kingdom and a preliminary set of agreements with China, the White House has yet to confirm any major trade deals, raising questions about the administration’s next steps once the pause ends.What To Know
On April 2, Trump imposed country-specific duties on dozens of America’s top trading partners, alongside a 10 percent global baseline rate, to address historic trade imbalances that he said had „devastated our industrial base and put our national security at risk.“
The reciprocal rates included a 46 percent tariff on Vietnam, in response to what the administration calculated as Vietnam’s 90 percent duty on U.
