The deadline set by the United States for imposing tariffs on goods from its trade partners is firmly scheduled for August 1 and will not be extended, said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, AFP reported.

“There will be no extensions, no more grace periods. On August 1, the tariffs go into effect. They will be imposed, customs will start collecting, and we move forward,” Lutnick stated in an interview with Fox News.

Once the tariffs are activated, President Donald Trump—who was in Scotland for negotiations with European Union representatives—remains open to dialogue, Lutnick added.

“You know, the Europeans are hoping to reach an agreement. Everything depends on President Trump, who is the leader at this negotiating table. We set the rules,” the secretary said.

So far, five countries have reached agreements with the Trump administration before the deadline, as part of the U.S. effort to reform the global trade system by imposing tariffs on countries Washington considers to be engaging in unfair practices.

These five countries are the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Japan.

The tariffs they accepted are often higher than the new base rate of 10% that the U.S. has applied to most countries since April, but remain significantly lower than the levels threatened by the Trump administration in the absence of a deal. | BGNES