Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick checked out early for the Fourth of July holiday.
Ahead of the July 9 deadline for President Donald Trump’s pledge to strike 90 trade deals in 90 days, Lutnick was scheduled to meet on Thursday with Maroš Šefčovič, the European Union’s commissioner for trade and economic security.
But Lutnick decided to leave Washington before the meeting to vacation in Italy with his family, Politico reported. Secretary Lutnick tapped Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to meet with the EU trade chief in his stead.
A Commerce spokesperson defended the secretary’s decision in a statement to Politico.
“He has been on nonstop calls for the American people and plans to be back in D.C. this weekend,” the statement said. “President Trump’s deal announcement with Vietnam earlier this week proves that Secretary Lutnick continues to level the playing field for the American worker.”
The trade deal with Vietnam is still under negotiation and would cover about $150 billion worth of bilateral trade. It calls for tariffs of 20 percent on all Vietnamese goods entering the country.
Trump imposed a 10 percent baseline tariff on goods from the EU on April 2, which the president has threatened to raise to 50 percent if a new deal is not reached by next week. The president of the European Commission said last month that negotiating a full trade deal on such a short timeline is “impossible.”
The White House did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
