In a recent cabinet meeting, President Trump spoke about his administrations' openness to negotiate trade "deals" as higher tariffs approach on August 1. However, the term "trade deal" has become somewhat ambiguous under his administration. Traditionally, trade deals are extensive and detailed, but Trump seems to use the term for all sorts of limited arrangements, even those that other countries haven't agreed to.
For instance, he recently referred to a tiny framework agreement with Britain as a "deal," which is merely a few pages and leaves many promises pending negotiation. His announcement alongside Vietnam also exemplified this trend, with a vague commitment to cooperation but lacking any published details.
Moreover, Trump labeled a recent truce with China, which only rolled back some existing tariffs, as a “trade deal.” In his view, anything that resembles a mutual agreement is fair game, which has led to confusion over what a real trade agreement entails.
Now, as new tariffs are set to roll out, the president's informal approach makes it hard to discern the actual terms and agreements being created on the global stage.
