The new deadline may help push along Nafta negotiations with Mexico and Canada, but the European Union is becoming a big problem for Mr. Trump’s trade agenda. The bloc has gained another reprieve from the steel and aluminum tariffs and apparently has given up nothing.

That has likely put the European Union in a stronger position, which it may now use in negotiations with the United States to end the tariffs threat. The bloc could use an opening to try forge a narrower version of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. But such an outcome would take many months to finalize and probably would not look like a win for Mr. Trump’s “America First” agenda.

And the European Union’s stance has hurt Mr. Trump’s tariffs strategy in another crucial way. The tariffs were said to be a cudgel to persuade allies to back the United States in its trade actions against China. The European Union, which shares some of the United States’ frustrations with China’s trade practices, may eventually back Mr. Trump against China. But the longer the tensions between the European Union and the United States persist, the less likely it is that they align.

Indeed, the divide the tariffs created between the United States and its allies, and Mr. Trump’s willingness to delay them, may be strengthening China’s resolve. The country’s trade negotiators are preparing to reject two major demands of the United States, for instance.

Mr. Trump famously said trade wars are easy to win. But, as he is finding out, this is not the case when they are fought on three fronts at once.

— Peter Eavis

The E.U., Mexico and Canada got a reprieve. Now what?

With his administration delaying tariffs on steel and aluminum from those partners by another 30 days, President Trump has so far avoided starting a multinational trade war with key allies. But is there any progress toward a permanent accord with them?

And the delay poses a risk, per Ana Swanson of the NYT:

It could fuel criticism that Mr. Trump is more bark than bite and increase the pressure on the White House to squeeze concessions from other nations.

The E.U. is still demanding a permanent exemption, and said the extension “prolongs market uncertainty.”