


Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was clear on Sunday that the 10% baseline tariff on all foreign imports into the United States is here to stay.
The 10% tariff was announced as part of President Donald Trump‘s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs in early April. Those levies included higher, so-called reciprocal tariffs on select countries, all of which have been paused for 90 days. The baseline tariff, however, stayed put and Lutnick suggested that wouldn’t be changing even as some trade deals have either been struck or are close to fruition.
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“We do expect a 10% baseline tariff to be in place for the foreseeable future,” Lutnick told CNN’s Dana Bash on State of the Union.
That observation largely echoed Trump’s comments on the baseline tariff on Friday, when he said the 10% tariff would “always” be in place.
“You are going to always have a baseline,” the president said, before hinting at possible exceptions.
“I mean, there could be an exception. At some point, we’ll see [if] somebody does something exceptional for us. It’s always possible,” Trump added.
Lutnick’s latest tariff comments follow a trade deal that was reached between the United States and the United Kingdom late last week. Despite significant reductions to tariffs on steel and aluminum as well as on automobiles, the 10% levy remains in effect for the U.K.
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The U.S. commerce secretary was also clear on Sunday that despite any deals, the baseline tariff would not dip below 10%.
“We will not go below 10%, that is just not a place we’re going to go,” Lutnick said.