[Salon] Trump trade team chases 90 deals in 90 days. Experts say good luck with that

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Trump trade team chases 90 deals in 90 days. Experts say good luck with that

By David Lawder and Andrea Shalal

April 12, 2025

Item 1 of 2 U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 9, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo

[1/2]U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 9, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

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• Summary

• Trump will be chief negotiator, Navarro says
• Pressure mounts on Trump administration for quick wins
• Administration also needs to reassure financial markets

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration wants to strike 90 trade deals in 90 days, but the challenges to quickly resolving the president's trade war are already apparent.

European Union trade chief Maros Sefcovic will on Monday be among the first foreign trade officials to come to Washington for urgent negotiations about the steep tariffs that Trump announced on April 2. The bloc is among the biggest U.S. trade partners with nearly $1 trillion in two-way trade last year.

But when Sefcovic arrives, Trump's top tariff negotiator, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, will be in Buenos Aires to show support for Argentina's economic reforms rather than in Washington, even though Argentina accounts for a mere $16.3 billion in total annual trade with the U.S.