Lutnick Pessimistic About Swiss Deal, Predicts India Will Apologize and Negotiate
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Bloomberg Television that he would be meeting with Switzerland's vice president later on Sept. 5, but he wasn't hopeful that the country would get a reprieve from 39% tariffs.
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He said the U.S. isn't interested in expansion promises in the U.S. by Swiss firms, interpreting it to mean that Switzerland's "rich companies are going to buy more of America."
He also said it's hard for Switzerland to buy as many exports from the U.S. as the U.S. buys from there and create fair and balanced trade. "Nine million people, what are they going to offer the American exporter?"
Switzerland emphasizes how small it is, Lutnick said, but it's "a small, rich country. And how did they become so rich? They sell us pharmaceuticals like it's going out of style."
"They're coming to make a new proposal, and I'm not optimistic, but I'm always willing to listen."
In another TV interview on CNBC, a reporter asked Lutnick if the U.S. sees a path toward lowering 50% tariffs on Indian goods, given the Indian president's recent trips to China and Russia.
"India doesn't yet want to open their market, stop buying Russian oil and stop being a part of BRICS. Either support the dollar, support the United States of America ... or I guess you're going to pay a 50% tariff, and let's see how long this lasts."
Lutnick pointed to Canada, which he said had plenty of bravado at first, with its "elbows-up" rhetoric and retaliatory tariffs, but after the Canadian economy suffered, its government had to drop those retaliatory tariffs.
"Eventually, your businesses are going to say, you've got to say, you've got to stop this," and go for a deal with the U.S., he said.
"In a month or two months, I think India's going to be at the table, and they're going to say they're sorry, and they're going to try to make a deal with [President] Donald Trump."
Lutnick was asked in both interviews about the appellate court's ruling against the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and both times he expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would "side with Donald Trump," saying the "smartest guy on the bench" dissented from the ruling. The finding was 7-4 in favor of the importers.
Unlike Trump, Lutnick said the Japanese and European deals won't unravel if IEEPA tariffs are struck down.
He also scoffed at the idea of asking Congress to pass higher tariffs. "The president has all sorts of other authorities," he said, pointing to sections 301, 232 and 338. IEEPA was chosen first because "this was fast and easy and incredibly smart, and that's why he did it. And look what he achieved."