Secretary Lutnick on Tariffs: ‘Amazing! A President Who Actually Does What He Says’

Is the president of the United States quietly building a coalition against China amid escalating trade war? And a question, equally pressing: Are EU member states calling Trump administration directly to cut their own deals?

On Wednesday afternoon, in a rare press gaggle outside the West Wing, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick offered a glimpse into the administration’s evolving trade strategy. According to Lutnick, the president remains singularly “focused” on the United States, even as his tariff-heavy policies send ripples through the global economic order.

Trump, he said, is committed to securing “the best deals” for America, working with “each of these great countries that are calling us that want to talk.” He dismissed suggestions that the White House is coordinating a broader front against China. “That does not mean that he is trying to build a coalition or any kind of thing like that against China,” Lutnick said.

Instead, the president’s focus, as portrayed by his commerce secretary, is singular: “Just focus on making the American farmer, the American rancher, the American fisherman, our manufacturers, our people, let them have better chance at the world, and that’s what he’s focused on.”

Behind the scenes, Lutnick was not shy to reveal, the phones are ringing. He confirmed that multiple EU member states have made contact — and that he has personally spoken with them.

“Busy,” Lutnick said, “would be the understatement” referencing himself, Scott Bessent and Jamieson Greer. “It is just WOW,” the secretary exclaimed. “There’s only one way to say it.”

Pressed further, Lutnick emphasized that so many countries want to talk and “are finally willing to make what we expect to be a fair deal for America. And we’re really excited to talk.”

Lutnick said the president was “very clear” on tariffs. “Those on steel and aluminum and those on autos are going to remain as he put them down. So that is unchanged,” he said.

Canada warned, Europe waits

Canada, meanwhile, has been warned against escalation. “If Canada decides to keep their retaliatory move, which I would suggest, having watched how it went with China, would be a really, really bad choice,” Lutnick said, cautioning that the White House will respond decisively if provoked.

Lutnick cited the European Union as an example of what he characterized as strategic restraint. Although Brussels announced a package of retaliatory tariffs in response to American trade measures, implementation was postponed. According to Lutnick, the expectation is that the tariffs will be “pushed out” to allow time to negotiate with the president “without having something hanging over their head,” he said.

“That’s certainly my expectation — that all these countries will realize, let’s just wait. Let’s go negotiate. Let’s see what we can accomplish together.”

Still, Lutnick stressed that trade talks would only happen on America’s terms. The administration, he argued, is not merely concerned with tariffs.

“They have to understand their rules,” Lutnick added. “It’s not just tariffs. You know, tariffs are one thing, but you have to realize, why can’t we sell a car in Japan? Why is 94% of cars driving around in Japan Japanese? Do you think it’s their tariffs, which are actually really low? No. There are other things that they do to make it impossible, right? They have subsidies, they have non-tariff trade barriers. They just make it impossible in Japan. They make it impossible for anybody,” Lutnick noted. “Korea, similar. Europe, similar for us. And these things just need to change.”

Trump’s approach to tariffs will be “bespoke” and dependent on how each country negotiates.

In a move the administration is casting as both strategic and diplomatic, Trump has decided to pause the tariffs, opening a 90-day window for trade negotiations with countries eager to reach bilateral agreements.

“He decided this morning that to be respectful to all of these countries who want to negotiate with the United States, that he should put a pause on so that we can negotiate with them for 90 days,” Lutnick said.

The decision is being framed not as a retreat, but as a tactical reset.

“He thinks resetting American trade policy is fundamental, right? He’s fundamentally said it during the campaign trail. He said it after he was elected. He said leading up to Liberation Day, he announced Liberation Day, and he did not bend,” Lutnick said.

According to the secretary, the volume of nations signaling their willingness to engage has exceeded expectations.

“What happened is the scale of those countries who want to come and negotiate with us is so great that it’s incredible respect and kindness of the president that says, I want to treat these countries with great respect, and I’m going to, so let’s put a pause on and then let’s negotiate with them,” Lutnick said.

On China, no compromise

Still, Lutnick made clear that this measured tone does not extend to China.

“You saw also how he dealt with China,” he said. “He wasn’t worried about the market, per se. What he’s worried about is that China is retaliating and has no interest in treating Americans fairly. That’s how they’ve acted, and he is acting accordingly,” he added.

Lutnick praised the president’s consistency. “He said he would act accordingly, and of course, he is. He tends to be incredibly consistent to what he says. Amazing, a president who does what he says he’s going to do.”

At the heart of the administration’s trade doctrine lies a hard economic truth: a $1.2 trillion trade deficit that the White House says can no longer be ignored.

“I’m saying that many, many countries have offered path to actually getting to reasonable and fair trade for the benefit of the United States,” Lutnick said in a firm defense of the president’s economic course correction.

“Because the reason I say it’s for the benefit of the United States is because we have a $1.2 trillion trade deficit, which means we are buying net $1.2 trillion more of other people’s goods than the other way around, so they have the greatest deal in the world, and it’s time for someone to say, Oh, come on, we can’t keep this up. Eventually this is going to break.”

Lutnick’s framing of the trade deficit is not merely economic — it’s existential. The imbalance, he argues, is unsustainable and overdue for disruption. And the shift, he claims, is already underway.

“What changed was that these countries decided it was time to get real with the United States, or this was just going to go forward. That’s why he rolled it out.”

To Lutnick, the imbalance isn’t just numerical — it’s the foundation of the president’s strategy: tariffs, negotiations and pauses, all designed for one goal: “great growth for Americans.”

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