Media: White House'close 'to tariff deal with Japan, India, but finalizing deal could take months

On April 23rd, according to Politico, the White House is close to reaching a comprehensive agreement with Japan and India to avoid large-scale tariffs imposed by the United States, but they may save many of the tricky details for later discussion. In the absence of a comprehensive trade deal, administration officials are working to sign a so-called "memorandum of understanding" or a broad "architecture" for a future agreement. "It can take months to finalize a final agreement, and these things are complicated," one of the people said. It is unclear how much the announcement of a framework for a future agreement will calm markets and avoid a political backlash against continued economic turmoil. Another source said, "I wouldn't even call them agreements, basically, [it is] a deal that we want to discuss to get a deal. They're going to start putting out a bunch of stuff, but as soon as they start signing something, it means we're going to start negotiating. "