Trump's "devil in the details" trade deals sow confusion

Trump's "announce first, details later" approach to trade deals has caught some global leaders off guard and led to contradictions about the billions of dollars the administration says foreign nations have pledged.

Why it matters: These are not traditional, word-heavy trade deals with text agreed to by all negotiators.

• Instead, news of deals comes via flashy announcements with big numbers and little specificity, leaving global investors wondering about the durability of such frameworks.

What they're saying: "With several of the latest deals, the two parties seemed to offer divergent understandings of the details almost as soon as the agreement was announced," Evercore ISI's Sarah Bianchi wrote in a client note.

• "All this means there is still much to be worked out in the months ahead and creates risks over the medium-term that misunderstandings could still emerge that jeopardize the tentative trade truces," Bianchi adds.

The other side: An administration official says the trade frameworks settle what the White House sees as the biggest points of contention.

• The finer details are being hashed out, the official adds — noting that complete bilateral trade agreements, down to the HTS code, are not realistic given the short timeframe.

What's going on...

🇪🇺 Europe: The White House says that aluminum, steel and other metals imported from Europe would be subject to a 50% tariff, not the 15% agreed to in the deal, according to a fact sheet.

• But European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said at a news conference that metal levies "would be cut and a quota system will be put in place."
• Meanwhile, analysts are questioning the viability of Europe's commitment to buy $750 billion worth of U.S. energy on top of an additional $600 billion investment.

🇬🇧 U.K.: Parts of the U.S.-U.K. deal still need to be implemented, including for U.K. steel and aluminum tariffs that Trump said would be slashed.

🇯🇵 Japan: As part of a trade framework, Trump said the Japanese committed to investing $550 billion in America, with the U.S. keeping 90% of the profits.

• But Japan's top negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said over the weekend the nation will invest — at most — 2% of that sum, Bloomberg reported. The rest will come in the form of loans.

🇻🇳 Vietnam: Trump announced a U.S.-Vietnam trade deal, in which the nation would be subject to a tariff rate of 20%.

• Vietnamese officials have acknowledged the existence of a deal, though not the specific terms, the FT reported earlier this month.

For the record: "The simple reality is that President Trump has, in record time, used tariffs to strike trade deals that secure unprecedented market access for American industries, farmers, and workers to economies that combined are worth over $30 trillion and are home to over one billion people," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement.

The bottom line: Beneath the headlines, key details of Trump's trade deals remain unclear.

• "The devil is in the details. Other 'deals' in recent months have proven less unbalanced than was initially presented," Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at payments firm Corpay, wrote in a note.