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President Donald Trump is expected to make a final decision on key trade deals by the end of this week, even as talks with China and the European Union remain unresolved, according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
“We’re going to have things done by Friday,” Lutnick said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, referring to the White House’s internal deadline for wrapping up major trade negotiations. He added that whether a a US-India trade deal is concluded before then will ultimately be up to the President.
His comments come after Trump announced on Monday that a U.S.-EU trade deal has been reached with tariffs set at 15%. Details of the deal remain unclear, and it is yet to be officially finalized, but Lutnick said the negotiations were a “master class” by President Trump and that talks are expected to continue.
Lutnick also signaled upcoming action in the pharmaceutical sector. He said Trump is likely to announce a new policy targeting drug manufacturing within the next two weeks, warning of steep penalties for companies that do not produce in the U.S.
“There will be a massive tariff if pharma is not made in the U.S.,” Lutnick said, hinting at a protectionist policy aimed at reshoring production and reducing reliance on foreign supply chains.
Earlier this month, Trump had threatened to impose tariffs as high as 200% on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S., but suggested that implementation could be delayed by as much as a year and a half.
Markets were mixed in morning trade on Tuesday. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) edged 0.18% higher while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) moved 0.04% lower. On Stockwits, retail sentiment around SPY and DIA moved higher within ‘bullish’ territory over the past day.
The Invesco QQQ Series 1 Trust (QQQ) rose 0.5% with retail sentiment on Stocktwits surging to the ‘extremely bullish’ zone from ‘bullish’ a day ago.
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