90 Trade Agreements In 90 Days: Experts Remain Doubtful Over Trump's Ambitious Plans

The urgency stems from Trump’s tariffs announcement on April 2; EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic will be among the first foreign officials to arrive in the US on Monday for emergency trade talks.

The 90-day countdown began after Trump halted the immediate implementation of higher tariffs, a move that followed a sharp market downturn.

Source : PTI

The Trump administration has embarked on an aggressive mission to finalise 90 trade agreements in as many days. But even in its first week, logistical complications and strategic inconsistencies are already raising questions about how feasible that goal truly is.

European Union trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic will be among the first foreign officials to arrive in Washington on Monday for emergency trade talks, reported Reuters.

The urgency stems from President Trump’s announcement on April 2 of sweeping new tariffs. The EU, one of America’s largest trading partners, recorded nearly $1 trillion in bilateral trade with the US last year.

However, Sefcovic’s visit may get off to a muted start. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the administration’s point man for tariffs, will not be in Washington but in Buenos Aires, supporting Argentina’s economic reform agenda. This is despite Argentina's relatively modest trade footprint with the US, totaling just $16.3 billion annually.

Coordination Woes and Market Anxiety

Bessent’s absence has added to the scepticism among trade analysts, who are already questioning the administration's ability to juggle such a high volume of complex negotiations within the stated timeframe.

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

Despite this, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro remained optimistic. Speaking to Fox Business Network on Friday, he asserted that Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were equipped to meet the ambitious target. “So we're going to run 90 deals in 90 days. It's possible,” he said, adding that Trump himself would oversee every deal. “Nothing is done without him looking very carefully at it.”

The 90-day countdown began after Trump halted the immediate implementation of higher tariffs, a move that followed a sharp market downturn. The pause, he said, would give countries time to negotiate bilateral arrangements. But calming rattled financial markets is also a priority. The past week saw investors exit US Treasury bonds, driving up interest rates and weakening the dollar. Gold prices, often a signal of investor unease, surged to record levels.

According to Cutler, the economic instability will increase pressure on the administration. “The onus is going to be on them to show that they can quickly conclude agreements with countries, and instill some confidence in the market and with other trading partners that there is an off-ramp here,” she noted.

Tough Choices

China, notably excluded from tariff exemptions and quick to retaliate with countermeasures, has deepened the uncertainty surrounding the administration’s trade strategy. Cutler described the dual aim of pleasing financial markets and satisfying the president’s trade goals as a “huge task.” She believes prioritising certain countries and extending the 90-day pause for others may be the only workable approach.

The scale of the challenge becomes clearer when looking at recent trade history. Even limited revisions to the US-South Korea Free Trade Agreement took over eight months, while the broader US-Mexico-Canada Agreement required more than two years of talks.

Greer, however, remained confident in Trump’s negotiating instincts. “We can get to a point where the president can close these deals. He can negotiate, and if there's a deal that's good he can consider taking it, and if not, then he'll have the tariff,” he said.