AP: 90-Day Trade Gamble Only Delivered 2 Agreements, Trump's Tariff Threats Lead to Deadlock

AP reported on July 10 that the "90-day, 90-agreement" trade goal promised by the Trump administration in April has failed — only two agreements with the UK and Vietnam have been completed as of July 9. There is a huge contrast between the bold claims of White House trade advisor Navarro and the reality, and the punitive tariffs originally scheduled to take effect on July 9 have been postponed to August 1. Former U.S. trade official William Reinsch called this pattern a "classic Trump cycle: constant threats, escalation, and finally delays," and used the Financial Times term "TACO" (Trump Always Cowers Back) to summarize it. Data shows that the 10% base tariff has become a permanent policy, far exceeding the average tariff rate of 2.5% when Trump returned to the White House. The "customized tariffs" for various countries have also undermined the World Trade Organization's "most-favored-nation" principle. Although Trump claimed to have reached a "zero-tariff access to the U.S. market in exchange for a 20% export tax" agreement with Vietnam, the details remain unpublished; while the UK-U.S. agreement reduced some product tariffs, it retained the 10% base tax — despite the fact that U.S.-U.K. trade has been in surplus for 19 consecutive years. Ched A. Bowen, former Obama economic advisor, pointed out the crux of the problem was "negotiating simultaneously with the global community is not realistic, and single-country agreements usually take several months." Currently, major economies such as Japan and South Korea refuse to make unilateral concessions, with Japan insisting that the U.S. remove steel and aluminum and car tariffs. As the new deadline of August 1 approaches, 12 countries face the threat of punitive tariffs as high as 25%. Reinsch warned that the current situation is a "giant chicken game," and companies continue to delay investment and hiring decisions due to policy uncertainty, plunging global trade into an atmosphere of uncertainty.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837202996652171/

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