The 90-day pause granted earlier on Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs has come to an end. While Trump’s team may have been hopeful of signing quick deals —in the initial days, there was talk of closing 90 deals in 90 days — the actual progress made by the administration has been considerably below expectations. Agreements have been struck only with the UK and Vietnam and a framework has been agreed upon with China. More deals are on the cards. Revenues, though, have surged. According to reports, US tariff revenues soared to $22.8 billion in May. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is hopeful of revenues touching $300 billion by the end of 2025. But, marked by unpredictability, Trump’s tariff policy, on which questions of legality have also been raised, has only increased uncertainty in the global economy.
Trump’s tariff policies have upended the global trading architecture. The Global Trade and Research Initiative, a Delhi-based think tank, has underlined that these agreements do not meet WTO standards for FTAs. If Trump’s past approach is anything to go by, there is a possibility that the tariffs imposed today could be revised tomorrow. The uncertainty in the global trading system is, therefore, likely to persist.
