Trump says July tariff deadline isn’t fixed: ‘We could extend it, or shorten it’

Trump made it clear Friday at the White House that the United States is not locked into the July 9 deadline that could trigger massive tariffs on imports from dozens of countries.

When asked if the date was final, he said, “No, we can do whatever we want. We could extend it. We could make it shorter.” That comment threw the entire trade timetable into question, especially since he didn’t directly mention the July 9 date; he seemed to be talking about July 8, which is when a separate deadline is set to expire.

According to CNBC, the July 8 date marks the end of a 90-day tariff pause put in place by Trump back on April 9. That executive order temporarily dropped all country-specific tariffs to a flat 10%.

But once those 90 days are over, the original, much steeper tariffs—some as high as 50%—automatically come back unless Trump signs a new order. And as of now, that hasn’t happened. The White House hasn’t announced any revisions to the April order, and the clock is ticking with less than two weeks left.

Trump’s original order will auto-trigger higher tariffs

The tariffs originally went into effect on April 2, which Trump called “liberation day.” Those sudden import fees hit countries across the board without warning. Some saw tariffs near 50%. Markets reacted immediately.

There was volatility, investor panic, and backlash from governments and companies globally. A week later, Trump signed the April 9 order that paused those rates for 90 days, promising the US would use the time to strike deals with individual countries.

But with just days left in the 90-day pause, there’s barely anything to show. The White House had suggested in April that dozens of trade agreements were on the table. But so far, the only real progress has been with China and the United Kingdom, and even those aren’t finished deals.

China’s Commerce Ministry said Friday that Beijing and Washington have confirmed the details of a trade framework, not a finalized deal. The U.K. agreement is also being described in the same way; more of a draft than a conclusion.

Trump, when asked about the overall progress on Friday, said, “We’ve made a deal with probably four or five different countries.” He added, “We have 200 countries, you could say 200 countries plus,” referring to the list of nations targeted by the original tariff plan. His math confirms what the actual results show: the vast majority of trading partners have no deal and are staring down the barrel of high tariffs again, starting July 8.

Trump and his team leave timeline open-ended

During his remarks, Trump said the administration is preparing to inform each country about the new tariff rates. “At a certain point, over the next week and a half or so, or maybe before, we’re going to send out a letter,” he said. “We talked to many of the countries, and we’re just going to tell them what they have to pay to do business in the United States, and it’s going to go very quickly.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt backed that up Thursday. “Perhaps it could be extended,” she said when asked about the July deadline. “But that’s a decision for the president to make.” That lines up with Trump’s own remarks. He’s not ruling out pushing the deadline forward—or moving it up. The only thing that seems clear is that there’s no certainty for trade partners, businesses, or the market.

Legal challenges are hanging over the entire situation too. In late May, a federal trade court struck down the tariffs, arguing that Trump didn’t have the authority under the law he used to impose them. But that ruling hasn’t taken effect because a federal appeals court quickly froze the decision. For now, Trump’s tariffs remain in place. But if the appeals court lifts the freeze, the whole structure could fall apart.

If no updates are made to the executive order, the country-specific tariffs will revert to their original high levels on July 8. That would restart the exact same chain reaction that happened in April—only this time with even fewer trade agreements and a legal ruling hanging in the balance.

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