Schumer: Trump Is 88 Countries Short of Promise

President Trump sent tariff letters to seven more countries Wednesday as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized him for falling 88 countries short of his goal of 90 trade deals. "Ninety days ago Donald Trump promised the world that his tariffs would lead to 90 deals in 90 days," Schumer said, per the Hill. "He makes these promises left and right. He doesn't care whether he executes them or not, but the American people do." So far, the only deals announced have been with the UK and Vietnam. Screenshots of the letters were shared by Trump on Truth Social and follow a number of letters that were sent Monday, per CNBC. Those tariffs, which will take effect Aug. 1 unless trade deals are reached, per the AP:

• Algeria, 30%.
• Iraq, 30%.
• Libya, 30%.
• Sri Lanka, 30%.
• Brunei, 25%.
• Moldova, 25%.
• Philippines, 20%.

• Bessent 'wanted more time': Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that Trump had considered letting the tariffs kick in on the original date of July 9 after his 90-day pause expired, but he decided to push the date back to Aug. 1 after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent convinced him he could get more deals with more time. The tariff letters are a tactic to get last-minute concessions, the sources say.
• A 'collision with reality': The AP describes the lack of deals as a "collision with reality." Trade deals tend to be very difficult to reach, analysts say, let alone reaching deals with every country in the world at the same time. "There's 200 countries. You can't talk to all of them," Trump acknowledged last month.
• What Trump means by 'deal': The New York Times notes that the president is taking an "expansive" view of what "deal" means, using the term to refer to loose agreements and limited tariff rollbacks instead of complicated trade arrangements. "The deals are mostly my deal to them," he said of his tariff letters Tuesday.
• Some deals may be close: Sources tell CNN that a trade deal with the European Union could be announced within days. Brazil has stepped up its efforts to reach a deal with the US, insiders say—but India has hardened its position in recent days, and the tariffs Trump announced on imports from Japan and South Korea on Monday may have backfired, making deals less likely instead of pushing the countries to meet US demands.

This story was updated after Trump added the Sri Lanka tariff.