August 1 is a difficult time of Trump’s rates

Trade secretary Howard Luni said Sunday that August 1 is the deadline for the parties to start paying rates for The United StatesBut said “nothing stops the sides from talking to us after August 1”

“This is a difficult time, so on August 1 the new tariff rates will enter,” Luni said to CBS NewsWhen asked about the deadline for his Tariffs for the European Union.

President Donald Trump Tariff period has shifted since he announced his steep levies to trading partners April 2But now White House employees are maintaining that August 1 is a firm deadline.

“Nothing stops the parties from talking to us after August 1, but they will start paying the tariffs on August 1,” Luni said.

Lutnik said some small countries, “Latin America countries, Caribbean countries, many countries in Africa,” will have a base rate of 10%.

Luni’s comments can bring relief to Nations eagerly await a final decision on Trump’s tariff rates, which has recently suggested that the base tariff rates for these nations can be over 10%.

The president announced last week that letters will soon be sent to the smaller countries. “We are likely to set a tariff for all of them … Probably just over 10%,” Trump said.

Lutnik added that “the greater economies will open or pay a fair tariff for America.”

Lunik’s comments come after Trump earlier this month Sent letters to trading partners Notifying them of the new tariffs, which reached up to 40% for some countries.

The letters published on Trump’s Truth Social have said the tariffs will come into force on August 1, which prompts the last-minute negotiations from commercial partners looking for a lower rate.