The clock is ticking down to zero, and Trump needs a trade deal -- badly [View all]

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/05/business/trade-war-deal-trump

President Donald Trump, the dealmaker-in-chief, has said for weeks that at least one trade deal is imminent with one of the dozens of countries in active negotiations with the United States to avoid punishing tariffs. So where is it?
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But as the weeks roll on with no deal in sight, the Trump administration risks inflicting serious economic damage that could quickly turn into a US and global recession. America’s aggressive trade war has already sent the US economy into reverse. Last week’s quarterly report on gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the US economy, showed America’s first contraction since early 2022, as an otherwise-healthy economy was dragged down by companies stockpiling goods to get ahead of tariffs.
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Despite the administration’s rhetoric that it is in advanced trade negotiations with more than a dozen countries, actual trade deals take significant time — often years — to hash out. They typically involve incredibly complex agreements, delving into the minutiae of various goods and non-tariff barriers. They often involve significant political considerations, as various parties seek to protect voters with special interests.
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That’s because Trump set a tight deadline to get this all done: The “reciprocal” tariffs that went into effect April 7 and were paused for 90 days on April 9 affect dozens of countries. So the clock runs out on July 8 — when punishing tariffs as high as 50% on dozens of nations are set to go back into effect.
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