Donald Trump is crowing like a rooster….
But?
The fine print hasn’t been made and some of things Donald thinks he got?
That Ain’t Gonna Happen…..
Typical, eh?
President Donald Trump is hiking global tariffs to levels not seen in a century — without triggering a major trade war. But it’s unclear what else his trade negotiations will yield, despite big promises that he and other leaders are making.
The White House has claimed, triumphantly, that the verbal agreements the administration has reached in recent days with major trading partners like the European Union, Japan, the Philippines and others will result in major new trade opportunities for U.S. industries and unprecedented sums of foreign investment into the country.
But there are already signs that the EU, Japan and other governments can’t guarantee the private-sector investments in the U.S. they have promised, and have competing interpretations of other major provisions of the deals as well.
The disagreements and lack of specifics — or written agreements of any kind — on the trade deals the White House has rolled out in recent weeks are raising doubts about how much Trump has really succeeded in lowering foreign barriers or drawing in foreign investment for U.S. businesses, even as he dramatically expands the protectionist policies that decades of American leaders had sought to knock down.
That could prove a problem for some in Trump’s own party, particularly free market Republicans who have given the administration leeway for his on-again, off-again tariff strategy, in the hope that it will ultimately expand markets for exporters in their home states and districts.
“I want to see the text and classified annexes of some of these agreements,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said last week. “Because it’s really important.”
Of the six agreements Trump has reached with leading trade partners ahead of a self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline, only one is signed. The Trump administration also reached a separate understanding with China to temporarily halt an escalating trade war, with a negotiating deadline extended to Aug. 12.
The one signed agreement, inked with the U.K. in May, was also light on details, with the implication that the two governments would negotiate further to implement the high-level commitments they made. For example, the British government is still pressing for the U.S. to make good on its commitment to eliminate tariffs on steel and aluminum. The two countries are also still haggling over restrictions on agricultural goods and other key sectors.
The remaining agreements — with the EU and several Asian countries — have yet to be committed to paper. Instead, Trump disclosed the deals on social media following a phone call or face-to-face meeting with his foreign counterpart.
The terms Trump has outlined aren’t always echoed by the other parties….