MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Products not grown in US might have zero tariffs, Lutnick hints

“Coffee and cocoa could be other examples,” Lutnick said

Amid the uproar surrounding the 50% tariffs on Brazilian products to be imported by the US administration of President Donald Trump, coffee producers saw some light at the end of the tunnel Tuesday when US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said in an interview with US network CNBC that some products not grown in the country could enter the United States without import tariffs.

“If a country produces something that we don't produce, it can enter at zero [tariff]. If we make an agreement with a country that produces mangoes or pineapples, then they can come in without tariffs. Coffee and cocoa could be other examples of natural resources [that will be exempt],” Lutnick said without mentioning any specific suppliers, such as Brazil, which is one of the main exporters of coffee to the US market.

Lutnick reinforced that US President Donald Trump's deadline for imposing tariffs on a number of trading partners will not be postponed again. The start of the application of the tariffs is scheduled for this Friday, Aug. 1.

Brazil is a country that, so far, has had the highest tariff applied to date, 50% on all exports. In the interview, Lutnick clarified that only negotiations with China are expected to extend for some time, on a separate schedule. For other nations, the deadline for reaching an agreement on the application of tariffs ends in three days.

“We have our own team working with China. They are a separate case,” he said. “But for the rest of the world, we will resolve everything by Friday. And Friday is not far away. August 1 is the date when we will define all these tariffs, and from then on they will take effect,” he noted.

Lutnick had previously said that next Friday is indeed the “absolute deadline” for these tariffs to begin to be charged, although he also noted that the United States remains open to negotiations with countries even after that date.

When asked about the progress of trade negotiations with specific partners, Lutnick suggested that Trump repeatedly rejected possible agreements in search of more advantageous conditions for the United States.

“What happened was that many, many countries made us reasonable offers to open their markets. Things like 50%, 30%,” Lutnick said. “The president said, 'No, no, I want completely open markets,'” he said in the interview.

“So now, the price of a deal with the United States of America is black and white: completely open markets,” he said. “But [the president] knows he can just set the tariff, set the price, and move on,” he added. (Source: Agencia Brasil)