Trump has now extended the deadline for negotiations to Aug. 1 and tinkered with his threatened tariffs, leaving the global trading system pretty much where it stood three months ago — in a state of limbo as businesses delay decisions on investments, contracts and hiring because they don’t know what the rules will be.

U.S. President Donald Trump issued final tariff notices to seven minor trading partners on Wednesday as his administration inched closer to a deal with its biggest trading partner, the European Union.

President Donald Trump and his administration are racing to get trade deals done ahead of a self-imposed deadline, at which point tariffs are set to rise for dozens of countries across the world.