One Year Later, Some of Trump’s Trade Deals Are Real. Others, Not So Much.

['Layla A. Jones', 'Is A Reporter For Tpm In Washington', 'D.C.', 'With Experience Covering Government', 'Economic Policy', 'Race', 'Culture', 'History. She Has Written For The Philadelphia Inquirer', 'Billy Penn', 'Whyy'] TPM – Talking Points Memo 2026-08-10 19:51:35

A year ago, international trade experts and economists told TPM that many foreign governments were playing Trump. New foreign investment commitments were nearly $20 billion higher under former President Joe Biden in 2022. There’s no indication that new foreign investment in the U.S. stems from Trump’s trade deals, according to available federal data. What is apparent in the data, though, are high-tech investments into the AI industry — new investments that are separate from Trump’s trade policy agreements, a late June research paper from the Federal Reserve showed. “Putting everything together,” Auclair told TPM, “it would be possible for them to meet the pledges but very difficult.”