Trump Claims He’s Set to Unveil a Flood of New Trade Deals
As the traditional 100-day benchmark of his presidency approaches, President Donald Trump is signaling that his aggressive approach to trade will far surpass expectations.
In a Friday interview with Time magazine, Trump revealed that around 200 trade agreements have either been finalized or are in progress, aimed at revamping America’s commercial ties with countries and companies worldwide.
Despite facing skeptical inquiries, Trump stood firm on his claims.
The interview, conducted Tuesday at the White House by Time senior political correspondent Eric Cortellessa and Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, quickly turned to the topic of trade policy.
The journalists pointed out that it had been “13 days” since a Trump trade advisor mentioned the potential for “90 deals,” and yet no formal agreements had been made public. During that period, Trump had lifted tariffs on nations aside from China.
“There’s zero deals so far. Why is that?” they pressed.
Trump took issue with the premise before offering a headline-grabbing assertion.
“No, there are many deals,” Trump responded.
“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.”
Trump didn’t just stand by the earlier figure—he doubled it.
“I’ve made 200 deals,” he said.
Although Time pointed out that none of these agreements had been officially released, Trump insisted the public would see them within “three to four weeks.”
According to him, the deals would dramatically shift the global trade landscape in America’s favor.
Trump used a department store analogy to describe the U.S. economy, likening the various sectors to departments targeted by international entities seeking access to American markets. He explained that negotiations involve multiple considerations.
“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.”
While some of the deals might need adjusting over time, Trump emphasized that the U.S. is in a dominant position to dictate terms. His message was directed not just at the Time reporters, but also at the global audience of political and business leaders.
“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.
“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.
During his first few months in office, Trump has tackled a wide range of issues, from restructuring the U.S. military and backing Israel in its conflict with Hamas (even while applying tariffs to Israel), to seeking progress in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and confronting Iran’s role in global terrorism.
If his predictions about the trade agreements come to pass, the upcoming “three to four weeks” could prove pivotal—not just for his first 100 days, but for shaping the trajectory of his administration in the years ahead.