Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick touted the Trump administration’s “monster” trade deal with the European Union (EU) as a historic moment for the American people.
Lutnick joined “Special Report” Monday after President Donald Trump and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a deal in Scotland ahead of a looming Aug. 1 tariff deadline that threatened to upend global trade.
“They agreed for the first time ever to cut all their tariffs, cut their barriers and let American businesses and farmers and ranchers and fishermen, finally, sell into the European Union,” Lutnick said. “Massive market. This is huge for America.”
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The White House said the EU will pay a 15% tariff, including on autos, auto parts, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, as well as a 50% tariff on steel, aluminum and copper.
It will also, among other things, invest roughly $600 billion in the United States over the next three years and purchase $750 billion of U.S. energy exports through 2028, a move aimed at reducing Europe’s reliance on Russian energy.
“President Trump’s agreement with the European Union achieves historic structural reforms and strategic commitments that will benefit American industry, workers, and national security for generations,” read a statement from the White House in part.
EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic defended the trade deal amid criticism from France’s Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin and France’s Prime Minister François Bayrou, who both suggested it was unbalanced.
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“This is clearly the best deal we could get under very difficult circumstances,” Sefcovic said at a press conference Monday in Brussels.
He added that he’s convinced the deal saves trade, trade flows and jobs in Europe and “opens [a] new chapter in EU-US relations [on] how to adjust our mutual trading patterns in this new age of geoeconomics and geopolitics.”
Lutnick told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier the deal is beneficial for both the U.S. and the EU because the two can grow their businesses together.
“Finally, we’ve righted the wrong of trade and Donald Trump has led the way,” said Lutnick.
The commerce secretary suggested more deals could be finished before Friday but explained that Trump could also just set tariff rates for other countries.
“By the end of this week, they will all be set. They will all be in stone, and they will be written, and we will start collecting those additional monies,” he told “Special Report.” “Right now, we’re collecting 10% from everybody in the world, and of course, a higher rate from China. But come next week, off we go.”
The South China Morning Post reported that Beijing and Washington are expected to extend their tariff pause for another 90 days following trade talks in Stockholm.
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