Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick confirmed on “Fox News Sunday” that there will be no more “grace periods” come the Aug. 1 tariffs deadline.
President Donald Trump‘s tariffs are set to take kick in Friday, when “customs will start collecting the money,” Lutnick said.
“Obviously, after August 1st, people can still talk to President Trump. I mean, he is always willing to listen. And, between now and then, the president’s going to talk to a lot of people,” Lutnick added. “Whether they can make him happy is another question, but the president’s definitely willing to negotiate and talk to the big economies, for sure.”
A recent Fox News poll revealed that people were disenchanted with Trump’s handling of the economy, inflation and tariffs, fearing that tariffs might increase their daily and personal expenses. However, Lutnick shared a positive outlook on Trump’s tariff policy, describing the situation as “fantastic” and predicting a revenue of about $1 trillion.
“What’s going to happen is very few products are actually going to move their price, and basically $700-$800 billion [will be collected]. Maybe, it’s possible that we get near a trillion dollars of revenue that will come into the United States of America, reducing our deficit,” Lutnick explained.
“So I think if you take a look at the whole thing, it’s going to be fantastic.”
Congressional Budget Office analysts argued that tariffs won’t help restore the economy, pointing out that the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act will add over $3.4 trillion to the existing projected deficit of $21.8 trillion over the next decade.
However, Lutnick challenged that assertion, highlighting the deals Trump struck with Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines over the week, and what positive implications these deals will have for Americans.
“You name the deal that he does, and he opens that market. That’s going to have export growth. Never before have our agricultural and industrial sectors had access to these markets. We’re meeting later today with the European Union. The president’s goal is to get those markets open for Americans to export to, and that growth is going to pay for everything. It makes Americans richer, and, of course, our tax revenues go up the right way, by Americans making more money and by winning in business.”
Trump announced later Sunday from Scotland that a trade deal with the European Union has been reached, with tariffs on automobiles “and everything else” set at 15%. The EU also pledges to purchase $150 billion worth of energy from the U.S. and invest an additional $600 billion in the country, according to Fox News.
