Trump Claims He's on the Brink of Unveiling a Wave of Landmark Trade Deals
As the symbolic 100-day marker of his presidency nears, President Donald Trump says his aggressive stance on international trade is set to yield an even more impressive outcome.
In a Time magazine interview published Friday, Trump suggested that nearly 200 trade agreements have either been finalized or are currently being negotiated to rebuild America’s commercial relationships with countries and corporations across the globe.
Even when challenged by skeptical questions, Trump stayed firm in his assertions.
The conversation, led by Time’s senior political correspondent Eric Cortellessa and editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs, took place Tuesday at the White House.
Trade policy came up early in what quickly became a tense exchange. The journalists pointed out that it had been “13 days” since one of Trump’s advisors predicted “90 deals” would result from his decision to pause tariffs on all nations except China.
“There’s zero deals so far. Why is that?” they pressed.
Unfazed by the pointed nature of the question, Trump pushed back before revealing a bold claim.
“No, there are many deals,” he insisted.
“You have to understand, I’m dealing with all the companies, very friendly countries. We’re meeting with China. We’re doing fine with everybody. But ultimately, I’ve made all the deals.”
In fact, Trump said the number exceeds what had previously been estimated.
“I’ve made 200 deals,” he declared.
Although Time noted that none of the deals had been made public yet, Trump maintained they would be announced within “three to four weeks.”
If accurate, these deals could dramatically reshape U.S. trade dynamics, with Trump asserting they would reset the global playing field to America’s benefit.
Using a metaphor, Trump likened the U.S. to a “department store”—a reference, perhaps, to how foreign entities view American markets—and outlined the key factors behind his negotiations.
“Do they charge us tariffs? How much are they charging us? How much have they been charging us? Many, many different factors, right,” he said. “How are we being treated by that country? And then I will set a tariff. Are we paying for their military? You know, as an example, we have Korea. We pay billions of dollars for the military. Japan, billions for those and others.”
Trump acknowledged that some of the new agreements may need tweaking once implemented but emphasized that the U.S. is now calling the shots.
“We’re a department store, a giant department store, the biggest department store in history,” he said. “Everybody wants to come in and take from us. They’re going to come in and they’re going to pay a price for taking our treasure, for taking our jobs, for doing all of these things.”
He argued that his tariff policy is already prompting a major economic resurgence.
“But what I’m doing with the tariffs is people are coming in, and they’re building at levels you’ve never seen before. We have $7 trillion of new plants, factories and other things, investment coming into the United States. And if you look back at past presidents, nobody was anywhere near that. And this is in three months,” Trump added.
The president’s first three months have been active across multiple fronts: restructuring the U.S. military, reinforcing support for Israel amid its conflict with Hamas (though Israel is still subject to his trade policies), engaging with efforts to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war, and addressing Iran’s role in global terrorism.
Still, if Trump’s prediction about the rollout of these trade deals proves accurate, the “three to four weeks” ahead could prove pivotal for shaping the next few years of his presidency.