Flurry of huge trade deals buries Trump tariff doubters

Big trade deals with Japan and the European Union have injected momentum into President Trump’s trade agenda and knocked his critics back on their heels.

Mr. Trump’s trade plans seemed stuck in neutral a few months ago, making it a punching bag for economists and pundits. Now, however, countries are opening their markets and throwing billions of dollars at U.S. projects, making deals that avoid tariffs in the high double digits but nevertheless agreeing to higher tariffs that they can stomach.

Mr. Trump and his team say that’s good for American workers and vindicates their maximum-leverage approach.

“Where are the ‘experts’ now?” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick crowed on X after Mr. Trump struck an EU deal that many Europeans saw as lopsided in favor of the U.S.