With just one month remaining before his self-imposed tariff deadline, U.S. President Donald Trump has made little headway in securing trade deals with most major partners, even as he took initial steps toward re-engaging with China.
Trump managed to secure a long-sought call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, opening the door to renewed talks set for Monday in London. However, the diplomatic effort was quickly overshadowed by a very public clash between Trump and former ally Elon Musk.
Trump aides maintained Friday that the president remained focused on his economic priorities. Yet uncertainty looms over some of the United States’ most critical trade relationships, with few concrete signs of interim agreements on the horizon.
India, once seen by the Trump administration as a prime candidate for an early deal, has pushed back in talks and challenged Trump’s auto tariffs at the World Trade Organization. Japan resumed negotiations but also emphasized its desire for relief from car and light truck duties.
At the heart of the uncertainty is the ongoing legal battle over Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs. A recent court ruling struck down country-specific duties, leaving trade partners unsure of the extent of Trump’s authority. A decision on the administration’s appeal could come as early as next week.
Hoping to showcase progress, Trump and his team pointed to renewed engagement with China as evidence that their strategy is delivering results.
Trump on Friday described talks with Beijing as “very far advanced” and said Xi had agreed to expedite shipments of vital rare-earth minerals — a key issue in recent tensions. Releasing those materials could provide relief to major U.S. automakers.
The developments highlight the volatile nature of Trump’s trade approach, where he and his advisers frequently portray him as the final arbiter in any negotiations.
Still, Trump’s interactions with Xi also underscore the challenges that lie ahead. The rare-earth issue underscored just how vital these China-controlled resources are to the American economy.
“Xi is not letting go of the rare earths. He’s got leverage, he’s using it,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, a conservative think tank. “They talked, that’s the most important thing. I think they’re really far apart.”
The countdown is on. Trump’s 90-day suspension of higher tariffs on the European Union and nearly 60 other countries ends July 9 — unless he extends it with a simple executive action. China’s grace period lasts until August.
If no agreements are reached, Trump intends to reinstate tariffs at their previously announced levels — or even slightly lower rates above the current 10% — according to a White House official who spoke anonymously.
“We will have deals. It takes time. Usually it takes months and years; in this administration, it’s going to take more like days,” White House trade counselor Peter Navarro said Friday on Fox Business. “We’re on task and on target.”
Navarro also joked that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative “looks more like a deli now,” with nations lining up to negotiate. This week, USTR sent letters to trading partners reminding them of the looming deadline.
Still, it remains unclear what results all the flurry of activity has produced.
For months, Xi had resisted a call with Trump, prompting speculation among analysts about what Trump may have offered in return to secure the conversation.
In a possible concession, Trump appeared to soften on Chinese students, calling it his “honor” to welcome Chinese scholars, even as his administration tightens student visa rules.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited Washington amid calls from German automakers for tariff credits on vehicles manufactured in the U.S. Yet the topic barely surfaced publicly during his meeting with Trump, who used much of the time to attack Musk.
“We’ll end up hopefully with a trade deal or we’ll do something — you know, we’ll do the tariffs,” Trump said Thursday alongside Merz.
During his visit, Merz highlighted the risks to deeply intertwined trade relationships, even personally driving a BMW built in South Carolina. On Friday, at an industry event, he proposed an “offset rule” to ease tariffs on existing U.S. production.
Trump’s only completed deal so far — with the UK — was undermined this week by his decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum. The UK had claimed the agreement guaranteed zero tariffs on British metals, but Trump’s new order preserved a 25% duty while talks continue and doubled the rate on others.
Even so, the upcoming Group of Seven summit could present a new opportunity for the kind of direct dealmaking Trump prefers. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has reportedly been in discussions with Trump ahead of the meeting near Calgary about a possible interim arrangement.
One emerging pattern is that Trump’s reciprocal tariff talks are increasingly entangled with his separate duties on metals and autos, despite earlier U.S. assertions that they were being handled independently.
“He’s entirely transactional,” Holtz-Eakin said. “He will always deal.”
Negotiations are ongoing with the EU, which has previously proposed a mutual elimination of auto tariffs as part of a broader framework — an idea the Trump administration rejected.
The bloc later floated a narrower deal with zero-for-zero tariffs on cars, some agricultural imports, and industrial goods, potentially using tariff-rate quotas as an interim step.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said this week he might support an “export credit” for autos — the kind of exception Germany is seeking on vehicle duties. He also forecast a U.S.-India trade agreement in the “not too distant future.”
Still, Lutnick noted that Trump’s idea of reciprocity includes exceptions. The U.S. will not agree to eliminate all tariffs with Vietnam, which it views as a transshipment hub for Chinese goods.
Talks also continued this week with South Korea — where Trump held a call with newly elected president Lee Jae-myung — and Japan, whose top trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa met with Lutnick.
Adding to the confusion, Japan’s Nikkei reported that conflicting positions among Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, USTR Jamieson Greer, and Lutnick had frustrated Japanese officials trying to interpret the Trump administration’s stance.
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