US President Donald Trump may extend the deadlines for reciprocal tariffs, the White House said on Thursday.
Asked whether the president remains committed to reaching a trade deal by the deadline, spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said the date is “not critical.”
“The president can simply offer these countries a deal if they refuse to reach a deal with us by the deadline,” she said. “And that means the president can choose a reciprocal tariff rate that he believes is good for the United States and for the American worker.”
Regarding potential trade deals, Levitt stressed that US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is working “very hard” and has had very good and productive talks with many of the US’s key trading partners.
“It could be extended, but that’s a decision for the president to make,” Levitt added.
Last month, Trump threatened to impose a 50 percent direct tariff on the EU from June 1 because trade talks were “going nowhere.”
But after talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump extended the deadline to July 9.
Trump also faces the end of a 90-day delay in imposing reciprocal tariffs on nearly every other country.
The reprieve that reduced the near-universal tariffs to 10 percent will end on July 8.
