Tariffs: America's hard line: "August 1st is a binding date."

ROME – The never-ending tariff game will not go into overtime. Howard Lutnick, the US government's Trade Commissioner, assures that the August 1, 2025, deadline "is binding."

From that day on, in the event of a failure to reach an agreement with the EU, the US will impose a 30% levy on products arriving from Europe, as threatened by President Donald Trump .

Of course, Lutnick clarified to CBS, "nothing prevents us from talking before and after" the August 1st deadline is triggered. And Lutnick remains quite optimistic about the ongoing negotiations : "America and Europe," he explained, "are the two major partners in the world. In the end, you'll see, we'll find an agreement."

Two factors could push Trump to reasonableness. First, a CBS poll finds that 60% of Americans oppose the President's choices regarding tariffs. And the European Union—secondly— is trying to improve trade relations with the East while those with the United States are worsening .

The same values

It is no coincidence that Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Community executive, will fly to China and Japan between Wednesday and Thursday, in the midst of negotiations between Brussels and Washington .

"This mission to the East goes hand in hand with our trade negotiations with the United States. The dialogue with the US," they explained at the Berlaymont Building, the seat of the European executive, "does not prevent us from collaborating with like-minded partners, such as India, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and now Japan . These are countries with which we share values and challenges, in trade, but also in digital and defense."

The second wave

On Wednesday, EU member states will gather their Coreper ambassadors to prepare for the failed deal. If there is no peace with the United States , Europe will impose counter-tariffs worth €21 billion, perhaps even before August 6. A second wave—worth another €72 billion—will target strategic industrial products such as cars, while at least four countries (Austria, Denmark, France, and Spain) are pushing to immediately deploy the mother of all weapons . The "bazooka" would contain EU measures against US tech giants.

So, will Trump be more gentle and reasonable? For now, the president is claiming victory. In the first six months of his term, he swears he has resurrected a "dead country."