The EU faces potential 30% tariffs as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed there will be no extensions beyond the Trump administration's Aug. 1 deadline.

Who pays for these tariffs? Most economists reckon that ordinary Americans will lose out, as prices in shops rise. Mr Trump and his coterie, by contrast, blithely insist that the rest of the world will shoulder the load by cutting their selling prices. So far, the evidence is giving the know-nothings a glimmer of hope.