Washington has no plans to extend deadline for EU tariffs

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he was confident the United States can secure a trade deal with the European Union, but August 1 is a hard deadline for tariffs to kick in.

The official said he had just gotten off the phone with European trade negotiators and there was "plenty of room" for agreement.

"These are the two biggest trading partners in the world, talking to each other. We'll get a deal done. I am confident we'll get a deal done," Lutnick said.

According to him, August 1 is s a hard deadline.

"Nothing stops countries from talking to us after August 1, but they're going to start paying the tariffs on August 1," Lutnick said.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the EU starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal.