Trump on trade: 'We could sign 25 deals tomorrow'

During Tuesday's bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, President Donald Trump redirected the conversation and subsequent criticism of his tariffs and instead pointed to record-high investments into the U.S. economy.

When pressed on the prospect of a trade deal with Canada, he said, "[w]e don't have to sign deals. We could sign 25 deals right now if we wanted, we don't have to sign deals. They have to sign deals. They want a piece of our market. We don't want a piece of their market."

Trump also expressed frustration over past trade deficits. After reviewing trade numbers earlier Tuesday morning, Trump indicated that the United States was losing "billions," avoiding a specific number because "they're so embarrassing." 

Presumably, because of his reversal of former President Joe Biden's trade stance, mostly unchanged from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the present trade levels have shifted. "We're now getting 25% on cars, 25% on aluminum, 25% on steel, and maybe more importantly, massive numbers of companies are moving into the United States."

Trump told the press that with recent investments and re-shoring of American manufacturing, the U.S. could reach $9 trillion in new capital. Much of the financial injection originates within the technology and auto manufacturing industry. 

In an email circulated by the White House to commemorate Trump's first 100 days, his team published a non-comprehensive list of investments or re-shoring by companies like Mercedes-Benz, Walmart, AstraZeneca, IBM, Kimberly-Clark, Coring, Merck & Co. 

These are in addition to previously-announced companies like Apple, NVIDIA, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Johnson & Johnson, Hyundai, Stellantis, Chobani and others.