The Blubber

“Everyone keeps asking, ‘When are you going to sign deals?’” Trump complained during a White House meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“We don’t need to sign deals—they need to sign deals with us,” Trump said. “They want access to our market. We’re not trying to get into theirs.”

Despite repeatedly touting that multiple countries were seeking bilateral trade agreements with the U.S., the president and his administration have yet to finalize or announce any formal deals or negotiation frameworks.

“I wish they’d stop asking, ‘How many deals are you signing this week?’” Trump said, visibly irritated by growing pressure to show results on trade. “One day we’ll show up and give you 100 deals,” he added.

This shift in messaging comes as the White House moves away from previous comments made by officials suggesting deals were imminent.

Just a day earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said on CNBC’s “Money Movers” that the U.S. was “very close to some deals.” And on Sunday, aboard Air Force One, Trump himself told reporters there “could very well be” trade agreements announced in the coming days. “I’m the one setting the deal,” he said during the flight to Washington.

During a NewsNation town hall last week, Trump said the U.S. had “potential deals” in the works with India, South Korea, and Japan. He noted that negotiations with India were “coming along great” and predicted that a deal with India was likely.

But on Tuesday, Trump shifted blame onto members of his own administration—specifically Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick—for raising expectations.

“My team hasn’t made it clear—we will sign some deals,” Trump clarified. “But what’s more important is that we’re establishing the price of entry for doing business in the U.S. Think of America as a high-end luxury store—we’ve got the products.”

Following Trump’s comments, U.S. markets slipped in afternoon trading.

Many investors and corporate leaders are anxiously hoping that the administration will soon secure bilateral trade agreements with key partners like Japan, South Korea, and India to cushion the U.S. economy from the impact of ongoing tariff-related trade slowdowns.

However, as of now, no concrete details have been released. Instead, administration officials continue to insist that several deals are “close” and could be announced at any time.