<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At the conclusion of his first 100 days in office in late April, </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/usa"><span>US</span></a><span> President </span><a href="http://donald-trump"><span>Donald Trump</span></a><span> made a stunning statement about his progress on </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/tariffs"><span>tariff</span></a><span> negotiations: He had </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/economy/trump-time-interview-tariffs"><span>completed trade deals with 200 countries</span></a><span>. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>More than two months later, Trump has announced just three of those agreements – with </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/china-news"><span>China</span></a><span>, the </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/uk"><span>United Kingdom</span></a><span> and </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/Vietnam" rel="" target="" title="Vietnam"><span>Vietnam</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>So what happened?</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/western-australia-wheatbelt-serious-concerns-missing-german-backpacker-carolina-wilga/7777a69f-b742-4956-9242-f1bd6074e7c2"><strong><span>Search ramps up for missing backpacker</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Wednesday marked the day that Trump had set three months ago as a deadline for all countries to reach a deal or face higher "reciprocal" tariffs. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump has since publicly acknowledged that pausing those "Liberation Day" tariffs until July 9 left insufficient time to negotiate with practically every country around the world.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump had initially expected to complete more trade deals by Wednesday's deadline, but in recent weeks he's been convinced that landing those deals can't happen more swiftly, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-updates-he-promised-200-deals-by-now-hes-got-three-one-more-close/9d42c830-a5e5-414f-ba90-76358362afb4" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That's why his public rhetoric has shifted in recent weeks to saying he would send out letters that set higher tariffs on America's trading partners, effectively getting results on the board while talks continue.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>So Trump agreed to push the deadline back to August 1 to give countries that are close to a deal a little more time for talks – particularly the European Union, which is on the verge of announcing a trade deal with the United States.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/lachlan-young-man-killed-exgirlfriend-but-says-hes-not-a-murderer/11de17c4-a5af-4077-91d1-38481f4c1ddc"><strong><span>Man killed ex but says he's not a murderer, court hears</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Progress in EU negotiations</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>EU and US trade negotiators are nearing a framework agreement that would set in place 10 per cent tariffs and lay out the parameters for extensive trade discussions going forward, according to three officials familiar with the matter.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The progress in negotiations with the EU, in particular, was a key consideration in extending the deadline beyond July 9. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed to the EU talks, as well as the view that several other key negotiations were in their final stages, as he advocated for more time, according to two people familiar with the matter.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump still needs to sign off on any final agreement and talks between the two sides are ongoing, but the officials said the agreement would be announced before the end of the week. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Olof Gill, trade spokesperson for the European Commission, confirmed in a press briefing Wednesday that EU trade negotiators are in active discussions with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and that a deal is expected to be announced in the coming days.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/childcare-giant-g8-education-to-put-cctv-in-all-centres-after-alleged-paedophile-charged/1a99c2e5-c8db-4ce1-be7f-f7d7310e1999" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>Two childcare giants to put CCTV in all centres after child sex abuse charges</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The progress marks a dramatic turn in Trump's long-standing, long-public disdain for the EU, a view that served as the backdrop to months of frustrating and intractable trade discussions this year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Trump's tone – and behind the scenes, the tenor and tempo of the negotiations – shifted dramatically in the weeks since he </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-trade-war-updates-threatens-50-per-cent-tariffs-on-eu-and-25-per-cent-on-apple/94245911-d677-467e-b962-550a090bca18"><span>threatened 50 per cent tariffs on the EU</span></a><span> in a morning social media post in late May. That unexpected and dramatic threat sparked an immediate response from the EU and set the stage for an urgent effort to reach some form of an agreement before Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs snapped into place.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>EU officials have been in the midst of briefing member countries about the framework and proposed negotiating process, one of the EU officials said, adding that despite the often-divergent equities of the bloc's nations, the deal has been presented as the best and likely only way to avoid a dramatic escalation in tariffs on August 1.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump's negotiators have maintained a hardline on the EU's push for exemptions to sectoral tariffs already in place or forthcoming, the officials said. For instance, a push to reduce Trump's 25 per cent tariff on vehicles is a central late-stage focus of the discussions, as has an effort to cut the 50 per cent levies on steel.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US negotiators have indicated some willingness to consider key EU industries and products for possible rate reductions, including airplanes, alcoholic beverages and some agricultural products. But it would require Trump's final sign-off, the officials said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>EU officials have also pledged to significantly increase purchases of US energy and defense sector goods.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>If a deal can't be reached, the EU has vowed to introduce countermeasures targeting billions of dollars' worth of US exports to the bloc.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Those retaliatory steps have been due to come into force on July 14. It is not yet clear if the EU will push back that date to account for Trump's extension of his "reciprocal" tariffs deadline to August 1.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If no agreement is reached by the stated deadline, the EU is prepared to activate targeted and proportionate countermeasures in defense of its legitimate interest," Marie Bjerre, Denmark's minister of European affairs, reminded the European Parliament Wednesday, noting that there are limits to the bloc's patience.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Other deals still in the works</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump has been frustrated by a lack of progress on trade. During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, he said his tariff threats have successfully brought trading partners to the table – but the deals other countries have offered the United States are unacceptable.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They say … 'We will give you total access, and you don't have to pay any tariffs, but please don't charge us tariffs', and we don't like that deal," Trump said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We're not hardline, but it's about time the United States of America started collecting money from countries that were ripping us off – ripping us off – and laughing behind our back at how stupid we were."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump this week has sent out several letters setting new tariffs, including 25 per cent tariffs on Japan and South Korea. Six other letters were publicised on Wednesday (early Thursday AEST), targeting Algeria, the Philippines and Iraq, among others.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Other deals have been harder to come by.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>India has long been viewed as the most likely major partner to sign onto a framework with the US. But Indian trade negotiators have hardened their positions in recent days, according to US officials. India is also a member of the BRICS group, so it's unclear what Trump's 10 per cent tariff threat on BRICS countries Sunday means for trade negotiations.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>South Korea had also been viewed for weeks as likely to reach an agreement, though Trump's auto tariffs remain a key sticking point in those talks, and Trump's letter on Monday may have thrown a wrench in those gears.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Japan steadily moved further away from an outcome in recent weeks, and Trump cast significant doubt on talks that once seemed on a path to a certain agreement. Japanese trade negotiators, who just weeks ago were scrambling to lay the groundwork for an announcement by last month's Group of Seven summit, have delivered far more pessimistic messages in their public statements in recent days.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday that despite "earnest and sincere discussions", Japan has been unable to reach a deal, </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/08/business/countries-respond-trump-tariffs-intl?ref=biztoc.com"><span>according to remarks translated by CNN.</span></a><span> "We deeply regret that the US government has imposed additional tariffs and announced plans to raise tariff rates," Ishiba said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand have all delivered substantial offers to their US counterparts in the last two weeks in an effort to move to the front of the line for an agreement and are likely candidates for any near-term deal in the next few days, US officials said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Brazil has ramped up its efforts to secure an agreement, including bilateral talks at the end of last week designed to expand on an earlier offer to sharply reduce tariffs on certain US products, American administration officials said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The most prevalent point of contention among foreign trade teams has been a lack of clarity on what their US counterparts envision for any final agreement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the biggest roadblock in the more expansive negotiations has been the existence – or promised imposition – of Trump's sectoral tariffs on autos, steel and pharmaceuticals, US officials said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-pharmaceutical-tariffs-copper-import-taxes-us-politics-news/63d66e95-1a2d-470b-bd5f-d96f1a4c4133" rel="" target="" title="US president said he was looking to announce 200 per cent tariffs"><span>US president said he was looking to announce 200 per cent tariffs</span></a><span> on all imported pharmaceuticals, </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/donald-trump-tariffs-liberation-day-what-does-australia-export-to-the-united-states/6e482eb4-b1ec-4d95-abe0-9760b6259f16" target="" title="one of Australia's biggest exports to the US"><span>one of Australia's biggest exports to the US</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em></em><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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