White House suggests some countries could see tariff deadline shifted

Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Stephen Miran said that some countries that are negotiating with the United States in good faith could see tariffs delayed as President Donald Trump’s deadline to strike trade deals closes in.

Speaking with ABC News' “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos, Miran hedged on what deals are in the works.

“On tariffs, the president's deadline is approaching for the deals. You've only seen three deals so far. What should we expect next?” Stephanopoulos asked.

“I'm still optimistic that we're going to get a number of deals later this week. Part of that is because all the negotiating goes through a series of steps that lead to a culmination timed with the deadline,” Miran said.

Pressed on if these other deals fail to come through and if Trump would extend the deadline, Miran indicated that could be possible.

“Well, my expectation would be that countries that are negotiating in good faith and making the concessions that they need to get to a deal, but the deal is just not there yet because it needs more time, my expectation will be that those countries get a roll, you know, sort of get the date rolled,” he said.

Asked which countries could see that date shifted, Miran refused to elaborate, but said that he has heard good things about talks with Europe and India.

“I would expect that a number of countries that are in the process of making those concessions, you know, they might see their date rolled. For the countries that aren't making concessions, for the countries that aren't negotiating in good faith, I would expect them to sort of see higher tariffs,” Miran said. “But again, the president will decide later this week and in the time following whether or not the countries are doing what it takes to get access to the American market like they've grown accustomed to.”

Stephanopolous was also joined by former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who balked at the potential economic benefits of Trump’s tariffs.

“It probably will collect some revenue at the cost of higher inflation for American consumers, less competitiveness for American producers,” Summers said. “So higher prices, less competitiveness, and not really that much revenue relative to what's being given to the very wealthy in this bill.”

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