'We Don't Have to Sign Deals': Trump Backs Off Big Promises About Tariffs

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/us/politics/trump-deals-tariffs.html

‘We Don’t Have to Sign Deals’: Trump Backs Off Big Promises About Tariffs
After weeks of bragging about upcoming trade “deals” with foreign countries, President Trump says the United States doesn’t need to worry about them after all.
By Luke Broadwater
May 6, 2025

Ever since President Trump announced he was slapping hefty tariffs on countries across the globe, he has been predicting they would force trading partners to sign major deals beneficial to the United States.

But on Tuesday, with the Canadian prime minister sitting beside him in the Oval Office and no new trade deal between the two countries achieved, Mr. Trump had a different message for the public: “We don’t have to sign deals.”

“Everyone says ‘When, when, when are you going to sign deals?’” Mr. Trump said, at one point motioning toward Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary. “We don’t have to sign deals. We could sign 25 deals right now, Howard, if we wanted to. We don’t have to sign deals. They have to sign deals with us. They want our market. We don’t want a piece of their market. We don’t care about their market.”

Within days of the April 2 announcement of the widespread tariffs, White House officials said around 70 countries were already calling to strike deals. Mr. Trump’s trade adviser predicted there would be 90 deals in 90 days.

But more than a month later, no such deals have materialized. And the clock is ticking.

Mr. Trump predicted the first deals could be signed this week. But administration officials also made that prediction the week before that, and the week before that.

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Who wants to do business with this asshole?

[bucolic_frolic]

1. "We don't care about their market." Then why meddle with them with tariffs? /nt

[Septua]

14. "We don't care about their market."

He wants the other countries to think that. He has actually said the rest of the world needs to pay for the privilege of doing business with the U.S. How fcked up is that line of reasoning? It's the narcissistic behavioral disorder. He thinks the entire world owes him special treatment.

The rest of the world isn't stupid. I don't doubt the leaders of other countries will attempt to make some kind of sensible "deal" but there is no sensible deal to be had that will eliminate trade deficits.

[CincyDem]

2. Tariff Week...the week formerly known as Infrastructure Week (and we're still waiting for that).

[Ocelot II]

3. That's because there are no deals. 200 countries' leaders *haven't* called him,

big strong men with tears in their eyes, calling him "Sir," begging for a deal that gives them a few crumbs. Instead, they've said, Fuck you, big useless orange person, we fart in your general direction and we bestow upon you our own most excellent tariffs. Now go away or we shall taunt you a second time, or words to that effect. Now he's looking for a face-saving off-ramp and there isn't one.

[Walleye]

5. Funny Trump thinks himself a dealmaker, but he doesn't really know what a deal is.

He believes you have to be forcing somebody or screwing somebody or bullying somebody. He doesn’t understand that a deal should be mutual between the buyer and the seller and acceptable to both. He’s never made a deal that way.

[Walleye]

4. Ha! I think the soybean farmers who had just repaired their relations with Chinese buyers would not say they didn't care

About foreign markets. Trump doesn’t even begin to understand agriculture where you plant crops, and months later they’re harvested. He can’t figure that out. He screwed the soybean farmers before and they still voted for him. Go figure.

[mwmisses4289]

6. "In two weeks....." 😒🙄

[Javaman]

7. nations around the world have realized, it's better for us to die on the vine than to sign a deal with the devil. nt

[Attilatheblond]

9. Seems most world leaders know what too many Americans do not know:

One does NOT give in to bullies.

[Johonny]

8. He wants bribes, not deals

He wants attention and servitude, not deals. He doesn't care what it does to the economy. He is living like a king at our expense. This is a national disaster brought to you by the GOP and their servant voter class.

[Mysterian]

11. Well said and entirely correct

Anyone who ascribes any motive to Trump other than self-enrichment is a fool.

[surfered]

10. That's because he didn't have any deals. None of this was planned.

[newdeal2]

12. Correction: "We don't have deals to sign"

[dalton99a]

13. +1

[BoRaGard]

15. The "new unimproved" G.O.P. Lie of the Day

[republianmushroom]

16. trump lies a lot and often.

[struggle4progress]

17. "You'll see big beautiful economic ruin! Incredible! Never been anything like it!"