As expected, Trump looking for off-ramps

[Septua]

Trump got to have his big moment in the Oval Office flanked by Lord Peter Mandelson, the UK ambassador to the United States, as well his Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, his Vice President JD Vance and his Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Mandelson even flattered Trump by suggesting that he buy a Rolls Royce the way the president had purchased a Tesla from Elon Musk at the White House.

But looking under the hood, Trump’s trade deal is not as expansive as he would like to portray it and it certainly is not the major breakthrough he promised either on the campaign trail or on his “Liberation Day” announcements.

But so far, it does not seem clear Trump has an off-ramp for de-escalating trade tensions with other countries, namely China, Japan, Canada, Mexico or South Korea. When Trump announced his initial pause on the tariffs, he pledged there would be 90 deals in 90 days. That number has come down to 75 deals and the White House said last month it had only been speaking to 34 countries.

Trump needed to show some signs of progress on trade. Polling shows voters are dissatisfied with his performance on the economy. Voters increasingly say Trump bears responsibility for the economy and his numbers on the economy have nosedived.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-concepts-plan-trade-deal-193229019.html

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Even the regime's own charts said $5 and $6 Billion, a pittance for both economies. . . nt