Investing.com-- The U.S. will roll out dozens of trade deals in the coming months, but is likely to leave a universal 10% tariff in place, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in two separate interviews on Thursday.
Lutnick’s comments come just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a framework trade agreement with the UK, which was touted as a major achievement by his administration.
Speaking with CNBC, Lutnick said the administration planned to “roll out dozens of deals in the coming month,” and that he was confident that trade deals with major economies- such as the European Union, Japan, and India- will be reached by Trump’s July deadline for reciprocal trade tariffs.
On the 10% universal tariff, Lutnick said “I think it stays.” The 10% tariff also remained in the U.S.-UK trade deal.
In a separate interview with Fox News, Lutnick said the Trump administration was focused on big countries, when it came to future trade deals, but this was likely to be a drawn-out process.
“We want to do a big country from Asia for sure,” Lutnick said on what trade deals were coming next.
“I don’t want to go fast, I want to do it correctly. The President wants to do it correctly,” Lutnick said, adding that “it’s going to take a little more time than you think.”
But Lutnick said that a longer process would bring the “best deal.”
The Trump administration is engaged in trade talks with several countries, after Trump in April unveiled plans to impose steep trade tariffs on major U.S. trading partners. But Trump had almost immediately postponed the tariffs by 90 days.
U.S. officials are also set to meet their Chinese counterparts for trade talks in Switzerland this weekend, with Trump stating that he expects there will be elaborate negotiations.
Trump also said that his tariffs on China will not extend beyond a 145% duty, and that the rate was set to come down eventually.
Financial markets cheered Trump’s comments and the U.S.-UK trade deal, especially as recent economic data showed some cracks in growth from uncertainty over Trump’s policies.