The clock is ticking down to zero, and Trump needs a trade deal — badly

CNN — President Donald Trump, the dealmaker-in-chief, has said for weeks that at least one trade deal is imminent with one of the dozens of countries in active negotiations with the United States to avoid punishing tariffs. So where is it?On Sunday aboard Air Force One, Trump said there “could very well be” trade deals announced this week. He also said that last week. And the week before.At the same time, Trump continued to temper expectations, saying foreign countries — both friends and foes — have been “ripping off” the United States for years, and trade agreements would come only when he agrees to terms that will benefit Americans. The ball is in his court, not theirs, Trump argues.“We’re negotiating with many countries but at the end of this I’ll set my own deals because I set the deal, they don’t set the deal, I set the deal,” he told reporters Sunday. “This is not like a big deal that’s gonna be signed — in some cases we’ll sign them, but we don’t have to sign them. I’ll be setting the deal, I’ll be setting the tariff.”The promise of a potential deal — the administration has said India, Japan and South Korea are the most likely countries to reach a US trade agreement first — has restored confidence in US financial markets and boosted some hopes that the world may avoid the worst-case scenario fallout from the trade war.