The trade agreement reached between the U.S. and European Union reaffirms an emerging pattern: higher tariffs, purchase commitments, investment agreements—and a lot of confusion.

The stakes are high, with the United States and India counting on one another as indispensable partners in their competition with China.

President Donald Trump said he was "not seeking anything" but added that he might visit China "at the invitation of President Xi."

But the outlook for many top U.S. trading partners has yet to come into clear focus. Trump has threatened, for example, to raise tariffs on Canada to 35% from the current 25% if the two countries don’t strike a deal by Friday. And a 90-day truce between the U.S. and China expires in mid-August, at which point Trump’s tariffs on China could soar.

The president is set to raise taxes on imports arriving from many countries, including Canada and Mexico. That’s on top of the tariffs that the White House has already announced on specific products,

Despite Trump's lack of interest in initiating efforts, he and his administration have been exploring the possibility of a meeting with Xi since the two countries’ delegations met for tariff talks for the first time in Geneva in May.

"The biggest piece in the trade deal puzzle still remains, and the Chinese are unlikely to be as willing to fold."

That statement came some 12 hours after Trump announced an agreement Sunday with the European Union that would see a 15% tax paid on products brought into the United States from the bloc. The E.U. also agreed to spend $750 billion on energy purchases from the U.S., while investing an additional $600 billion here.