On July 9th, the "tariff deadline" postponed for two months? The U.S. Treasury Secretary hinted it could be extended to September 1st, S&P surged to a historic high

Statements from officials in the Trump administration have boosted investors' confidence in the prospects of reaching a trade negotiation agreement, leading to a rapid rise in U.S. stocks, with the two major U.S. stock indices poised to set new historical highs.

CCTV News pointed out that July 9 is the deadline for the U.S. government to suspend the imposition of so-called "reciprocal tariffs" for 90 days. On June 27, U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin stated to the media that the Trump administration's trade agreement agenda could be completed before the U.S. Labor Day holiday, saying, "I believe we can finish before Labor Day."

U.S. law designates the first Monday in September as Labor Day, which falls on September 1 this year. Therefore, Mnuchin's remarks imply that negotiations with some trade partners may extend beyond the July 9 deadline, potentially prolonging the negotiation period by nearly two months.

In addition to mentioning Labor Day as a possible completion point for negotiations, Mnuchin reiterated that the U.S. has 18 important trade partners, stating that the U.S. is focused on reaching agreements with major trade partners. He mentioned that the U.S. has completed an agreement with the UK and reached consensus with China, meaning these two trade partners no longer need to be considered among the aforementioned partners.

Like U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ross, Mnuchin also hinted that the Trump administration is close to reaching agreements with multiple trade partners.

Mnuchin stated, "Some countries are reaching out to us and have proposed very good agreements," without disclosing which countries. He emphasized comments made by Ross on Thursday evening, who mentioned that the White House plans to finalize agreements with ten major trade partners before July 9. Mnuchin also referred to the ten but did not specify which trade partners would be included. He said:

"Therefore, if we can sign with 10 or 12 of the 18 important trade partners—along with another 20 important trade partners—then I believe we can complete the trade agreement before Labor Day."

During Mnuchin's remarks, the U.S. stock market maintained its upward momentum in the morning session, and towards the end of the morning session, both the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq had risen over 0.7%. After entering the lunch break, they were up at least around 0.6%. If both indices close higher, they will both refresh their respective closing record highs set on February 19 of this year.

The White House hinted on Thursday that Mnuchin had indicated two weeks ago that the tariff deadline might be postponed

According to Xinhua News Agency, U.S. President Trump announced on April 2 the imposition of so-called "reciprocal tariffs," which triggered a sharp decline in the U.S. financial markets. Under pressure from various parties, Trump announced on April 9 a 90-day suspension of high "reciprocal tariffs" on some trade partners, while maintaining a 10% "baseline tariff," and threatened U.S. trade partners to complete negotiations with the U.S. by July 8.

After Mnuchin's remarks, Trump was asked on Friday whether the July 9 deadline would be postponed to early September, to which he refused to respond. However, the day before, the White House had already hinted at signs that the July 9 deadline might be relaxed White House Press Secretary Levitt said on Thursday,

"The July 9 deadline is not important."

She then stated, "If these (negotiating) countries refuse to reach an agreement with us before the deadline, President (Trump) can offer them an agreement," which means setting "a reciprocal tariff rate that he believes is beneficial to the United States."

When asked whether the deadline should be postponed, Levitt replied:

"Perhaps the negotiation period can be extended, but it depends on the president's decision."

On the same Thursday, Stephen Miran, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, indicated that he expects the Trump administration to extend the negotiation period for trade partners who are negotiating in good faith, effectively postponing the July 9 deadline.

Miran said, "My expectation is that for those countries that are negotiating in good faith and making progress, it is reasonable to postpone the deadline. I mean, you wouldn't drop a tariff bomb and destroy an ongoing agreement that is making real, good-faith, sincere, and genuine progress."

In fact, over two weeks ago at a House hearing, Bessent had already indicated that the Trump administration is likely to delay the implementation of reciprocal tariffs for trade partners negotiating in good faith. At that time, he said:

"For those countries negotiating in good faith— or trade groups like the EU— we are very likely to extend the deadline to continue good-faith negotiations. But if someone is not negotiating, then we will not extend it."

Bessent's statement marks the first public acknowledgment by the Trump administration of flexibility in the tariff timeline.

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