President Donald Trump’s trade policy received a boost this week as the US signed a series of new trade frameworks with several Asian nations and moved closer to finalising a deal with China.

Over the weekend, Washington concluded agreements with Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia. Vietnam will retain its 20% tariff level, though further talks may remove duties on select products. Thailand will maintain a 19% rate but has pledged to cut tariffs on 99% of U.S. goods. Meanwhile, Malaysia and Cambodia signed reciprocal deals capping ad valorem tariffs at no more than 19%.

Ahead of an expected meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, both sides appear to have reached a preliminary framework for a trade deal. The proposal reportedly includes China delaying export controls on rare earth minerals – critical to U.S. technology and defense industries – in exchange for Trump shelving plans to double tariffs on Chinese imports. Discussions are also understood to have included potential adjustments to USTR and Chinese port fees.

Despite these developments, not everything in the garden is rosy. A recent report showed throughput at America’s ten largest ports fell nearly 7% last month compared to a year earlier. More significantly, the Supreme Court will hear a case on November 5th that could invalidate large portions of Trump’s tariff regime.

Both the US Federal Court and the US Court of Appeals have ruled that Trump exceeded his authority by using emergency powers to impose broad tariffs. If this decision is upheld in the Supreme Court, the ruling could completely dismantle the government’s tariff and trade policies and potentially result in the refund of billions of dollars of duties.

The stage is set for an interesting few weeks ahead.