Commerce Minister Lutnik says confident of reaching trade deal with EU

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday he was confident the U.S. could reach a trade deal with the European Union, but that Aug. 1 was a hard deadline for tariffs to take effect.

Lutnick said he had just gotten off a call with EU trade negotiators and that the two sides still had "a lot of room to negotiate."

"These are the two largest trading partners in the world talking to each other. We're going to make a deal. I'm confident we can make a deal," Lutnick said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

On July 12, after weeks of negotiations with major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose 30% tariffs on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting Aug. 1.

Lutnick said that was a hard deadline.

"After Aug. 1, countries can still negotiate with us, but starting Aug. 1, they're going to start paying the tariffs," he said on the CBS show.

Trump announced the tariffs in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He also sent letters to other trading partners, including Mexico, Canada, Japan and Brazil, setting uniform tariff rates ranging from 20% to 50%, as well as a 50% tariff on copper.

Lutnick also said he expects Trump to renegotiate the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was signed during Trump's first term as president from 2017-2021.

Barring major changes, goods from Mexico and Canada that meet the USMCA rules will be exempt from the tariffs.

"I think the president will definitely renegotiate the USMCA, but that will be a year from now," Lutnick said.