Trump Claims 150 Countries Want Trade Deals, But Offers Few Details

President Trump Said There Are About “150 Countries That Want To Make A Deal,” Though He Didn’t Mention Which Ones Or How Many Would Actually Receive Letters. He Also Said Those Countries Could Challenge The Decision, But Didn’t Explain What That Process Would Look Like.

Neither the White House nor the Commerce Department gave any response when asked for comments overnight in the US.

Back on April 2, Trump announced steeper tariffs on several of America’s trading partners. But after investors started to panic, he decided to put those tariffs on hold for 90 days so other countries could come to the table and talk. Still, in recent weeks, he’s shifted away from the idea of negotiating with every country one by one.

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Even though the Trump administration is focusing on trade talks with over a dozen countries, there’s just not enough people or resources to run all the negotiations at once—especially with the way this “reciprocal tariffs” plan is laid out. While US Customs and Border Protection technically collects the tariffs at the border, the extra cost usually ends up hitting American consumers.

Earlier this month, Trump said he would just set tariff rates himself for a lot of countries trying to avoid the higher fees.

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Talks are still ongoing with countries like Japan, South Korea, India, and the EU. Trump recently came to an agreement on a trade framework with the UK, and worked out a temporary tariff reduction deal with China to buy some more time.

On Thursday, Trump said India offered to lower tariffs on American goods—but India hasn’t confirmed that. “We’ve got four or five other deals coming right up,” Trump said on May 9, while highlighting the UK agreement. “There are lots more deals coming. We’re basically just finishing up the rest.”