Trump trade team chases 90 deals in 90 days Experts say good luck with that

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s administration wants to strike 90 trade deals in 90 days, but the challenges to quickly resolving the president’s trade war are already apparent.

European Union trade chief Maros Sefcovic will on April 14 be among the first foreign trade officials to come to Washington for urgent negotiations about the steep tariffs that Mr Trump announced on April 2. The bloc is among the biggest US trade partners with nearly US$1 trillion (S$1.3 trillion) in two-way trade in 2024.

But when Mr Sefcovic arrives, Mr Trump’s top tariff negotiator, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, will be in Buenos Aires to show support for Argentina’s economic reforms rather than in Washington, even though Argentina accounts for a mere US$16.3 billion in total annual trade with the US.

Mr Bessent’s absence on April 14 highlights doubts among trade experts about how effectively the administration can manage so many simultaneous negotiations and the overall prospects for reaching 90 deals in 90 days.

“Teeing up these decisions is going to take some serious negotiations,” said Ms Wendy Cutler, a former US Trade Representative chief negotiator who heads the Asia Society Policy Institute. “There’s no way during this timeframe we’re doing a comprehensive agreement with any of these countries.”

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro countered on Fox Business Network on April 11 that Mr Bessent, US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick could accomplish the job.

“So we’re going to run 90 deals in 90 days. It’s possible,” he said.

Ultimately, Mr Trump, “the boss, is going to be chief negotiator. Nothing is done without him looking very carefully at it”, Mr Navarro said.

Mr Trump started the 90-day countdown clock this week when he paused implementing his higher tariffs for many countries after financial markets went