U.S. Secretary of Commerce: August 1 is the deadline for countries to start paying tariffs to the United States, but "negotiations are still possible."

On July 21, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said in an interview with CBS News last Sunday that August 1 is the deadline for countries to start paying tariffs to the United States, but emphasized that "countries can continue to negotiate with the U.S. after August 1." Lutnick revealed that some small countries—Latin American nations, Caribbean nations, and many African nations "will be subject to a 10% Benchmark tariff." This statement may provide some relief to these countries, as Trump had previously hinted that the benchmark tax rate for these countries could exceed 10%. However, he also stated that "larger economies have only two options—either open their markets to the U.S. or pay fair tariffs." (Jin10)