Trump’s trade deals are so far light and fraught, as leaders around the world, managing their own voters, are pushing back. With the July 9 deadline for the end of a pause on reciprocal tariffs looming, US trading partners are managing tricky domestic constituencies while keeping the world’s biggest economy onside.
It’s a delicate balancing act. Canada’s new prime minister met Trump’s bullying with strength, but caved on its proposed digital services tax, which would have cost American tech companies billions, to get back to the negotiating table. Japan is trying to avoid punishing car tariffs and get access to needed US gas without angering its powerful domestic rice growers, who are protected by tariffs that Trump is seeking to unwind. India is willing to lower its own barriers on US apples, but fiercely protecting its own soybean farmers. Negotiations are said to be stuck on, among other things, allowing freer imports of milk from US dairy farms whose feeding practices conflict with Hindu dietary customs.
The deal announced this week with Vietnam looks like a clearer win for Trump, imposing 20% across-the-board tariffs and 40% on goods routed through Vietnam from China, but details are sparse. Other countries want to be great, too.