Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick signaled Monday that the Trump administration appears “likely” to extend a pause on tariffs with China as trade negotiations continue, while the South Koreans “really, really want to get a deal done.”
“They’re talking right now, but the decision-maker, of course, is President Trump,” Lutnick said of the state of negotiations with China, during an interview with Fox News “Special Report” host Bret Baier.
Washington and Beijing struck a deal in May to pause their raging trade war for 90 days, with the US agreeing to drop its 145% tariff rate on most Chinese goods to 30%, while China lowered its rate to 10% from 125%.
The truce is set to expire on Aug. 12.
Asked about reports that both sides were seeking to extend the pause, Lutnick indicated that while it appears “likely,” the decision ultimately rests on Trump.
“I’m sure the people who are speaking with China are going to go discuss with President Trump how he wants to play it,” the commerce secretary said. “He’s got an excellent relationship with [Chinese President Xi Jinping], and I think we’ll leave that to Donald Trump to decide.”
“Is that a likely outcome? Sure, it seems that way, but let’s leave it to President Trump to decide,” Lutnick said of the potential for another 90-day pause.
Lutnick noted that negotiations over the social media app TikTok are “separate but adjacent” to a potential China deal.
TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, has a Sept. 17 deadline to divest the platform’s American assets or face a US ban.
Meanwhile, South Korea is eager to reach an agreement on a trade deal before Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs go into effect on Aug. 1.
“The South Koreans flew to Scotland to meet with me and [US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer] after dinner,” Lutnick said of his late-night, weekend discussions with South Korea.
“I mean, think about how much they really, really want to get a deal done,” Lutnick added.
The Trump Cabinet official argued that the president “is in the driver’s seat now” when it comes to trade deals, and that he expects the commander in chief to “consider a few deals” before Aug. 1, but that he’s focused on deciding what the tariff rates will be for countries that haven’t reached agreements with the US.
So far, Trump has cut preliminary tariff deals with the UK, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and the European Union.
The president told reporters on Sunday that he has no intention of delaying the Aug. 1 deadline.
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