Today was Trump's deadline. So where are the trade deals?

President Donald Trump gave himself 90 days to reshape global trade. That deadline is today. The deals? Still missing.

Instead of delivering on a sweeping pledge to strike 90 new trade agreements by July 9, the administration has pushed its tariff implementation date and apparent deadline for deals to Aug. 1. Officials say negotiations with trading partners are ongoing. But so far, only two partial deals have been announced, including one with Vietnam and one with the United Kingdom.

Scraping in just ahead of the deadline, the White House has also published letters to 14 countries outlining the tariff rates they would face if deals aren’t reached. The recipients included major partners like Japan and South Korea but otherwise ran to mid-size or quite small economies like Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Tunisia, and Serbia.

A letter means a deal?

At a cabinet meeting Tuesday, Trump declared, “A letter means a deal,” and on Truth Social, insisted the new August 1 deadline “has not changed” and “will not change.” But the claim is at odds with the record. The deadline has already shifted twice — first from the original April “Liberation Day” rollout and again from the previously stated July 9 cutoff.

The wording of the letters appears largely copied and pasted across nations. All include typos or misaddressed leaders, raising questions about the rollout’s precision and rationale.

The sequencing has also drawn scrutiny. The administration has not explained why these 14 countries were targeted first. Some experts see an effort to crack down on transshipping, a tactic in which companies reroute goods through third-party nations to sidestep tariffs. The administration could also be using smaller trading partners to test its messaging and tactics before confronting larger economies.

16 of 90 deals by original deadline

Even if each letter were counted as a finalized agreement — which administration officials have suggested is not the case — that would still bring the total to just 16 deals out of the 90 the Trump administration originally promised. The gap underscores how far the administration remains from its stated goal, even as it insists the process is on track.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly urged the delay to August 1, arguing that talks with several governments — including India and the E.U. — were progressing and could benefit from more time.

Administration officials say they remain in contact with multiple countries, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said as many as 15 to 20 additional letters could be released this week.

Wall Street reacts

Unlike in April, when Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs triggered a sharp selloff, markets largely shrugged off this latest round of deadlines, delays, and fresh promises. Heading into Wednesday’s open, the S&P 500 rose about 0.2%, the Dow climbed 0.25%, and the Nasdaq edged up 0.2%, suggesting that Wall Street isn’t treating Trump’s newest pronouncements as imminent policy.

Axios’ Neil Irwin has described the current moment as a “liminal state” — one in which tariffs are always just about to happen, but rarely do. Trump continues to insist the new levies will begin August 1 “with no extensions.” So far, markets aren’t buying it.