Lutnick says 10% baseline tariff will stick around for “foreseeable future”

In Washington, D.C., on April 2, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump was seen in the Rose Garden at the White House holding a chart alongside U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick during a discussion on tariffs. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently stated that the 10% baseline tariff rate on imports from other countries is expected to remain in effect for the foreseeable future, aligning with President Trump’s earlier statements. Lutnick emphasized in an interview on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ that the 10% baseline tariff would persist, with businesses and countries bearing the costs rather than consumers. However, there is evidence showing that businesses are attempting to transfer these costs to consumers, leading to a decline in consumer confidence since the tariff announcement on April 2. Prices of certain household items have already started to rise. Lutnick mentioned that businesses would need to compete with domestically produced goods that are not subject to the tariff when selling to American consumers.

Lutnick’s remarks follow Trump’s recent comments at the White House, where he indicated that the 10% tariff rate could serve as the minimum benchmark for trade agreements, potentially escalating even further for certain countries. Despite the recent trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom, the 10% baseline tariff remains in effect for most imported goods. Trump described the 10% baseline as a “low number” for products coming from the United Kingdom and hinted that tariffs for countries with substantial trade surpluses could be significantly higher.