Markets and economic observersnavigated another day of Trump trade activityTuesday with the growing question being when long-promised deals would materialize. Trump began the weekpromising a mix of"Letters, and/or Deals," but with only the former in evidence so far after multiple days of promises and theunilateral declarations of tariffsto 14 countries that came Monday. The focus on letters continued on Tuesday morning with Trump promising more letters "today, tomorrow, and for the next short period of time" while also underling the firmness of his August 1 deadlinethat he implemented Monday by executive order. "No extensions will be granted," hewrote on Truth Social. Trump has pledged 25% duties on South Korea and Japan on that date with some rates as high as 40% on other nations in numbers that closely tracked rates that were first promised in April (and rattled stocks at the time). What's been left out so far are deal announcements with Trump Monday evening not sounding like a promised flurry of deals to lower rates are in the offing — at least in the next few days. "We're close to making a deal with India," the presidentsaid during dinnerwith Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before immediately adding, "Others we've met with and we don't think we're going to be able to make a deal, so we just send them a letter." The commentary is likely in part a negotiating ploy from the president, as there is ample evidence that negotiations with both India and the EU are making progress. But it raised the question for markets as to whether this week will end up being more notable for market-unfriendly moves instead of a mix of proverbial carrots — in the form of deals to lower rates from April levels — and sticks. Read more:The latest news and updates on Trump's tariffs The overall context, as Ed Mills of Raymond James put it, could be that markets will have to contend with "a near-term trade escalation" in the coming days as negotiation timelines shift toward the end of the month. That will "continue to drive trade-related market uncertainty given the shifting deadlines." "We read Trump's choice to reiterate the threat of Liberation Day numbers as a hawkish signal," Tobin Marcus of Wolfe Research added in another note. "Investors might just totally discount these threats," he added, "but it's not hard for us to imagine some of these tariffs taking effect." Trump's comments appeared to undercut some of his aides — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said just hours earlier on CNBC, "We are going to have several announcements in the next 48 hours" — but evidence remained ample that progress could be announced in the coming hours and days. Of the top 10 US trading partners — which make up about 75% of US trade — seven are not expected to see additional developments this week. Canada, Mexico, and China are on different timelines. Vietnam and the UK have already reached agreements. South Korea and Japan received their letters this week. That leaves India, the EU, and Taiwan. India and the EU appear far and away the most likely to strike a deal. Multiple reports on Monday and Tuesday suggested that Europe is close to an agreement that could include holding a tariff rate of 10% with some carveouts for things like aircraft and alcohol,according to Bloomberg. Read more:What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet The other closely watched negotiation is with India, which reportedly said it has made its final offer andthat a deal is in Trump's hands. Greta M. Peisch, an international trade lawyer who worked in Biden's trade office and is now at a firm called Wiley Rein, said the signals so far around India this week suggest "there is progress being made, but not quite enough yet to announce a deal." She added that India is in a different position than other countries like South Korea and Japan in that they came into the talks with more trade barriers up so "they just have more options" when it comes to hammering out a deal. Trump perhaps inadvertently offered optimism on that front Monday evening when he first said, "We made a deal," before catching himself and saying, "We're close to making a deal with India." The outcome of these discussions this week and month also comes with plenty of economic and market stakes. Tuesday morning, the Yale Budget Lab reviewed Trump's first round of letters sent Monday and calculated that, if he follows through, the overall average effective tariff rate would be 17.6% — the highest since 1934. Market watchers have also suggested that the announcement of deals could help stabilize marketsafter a down day on Monday. Terry Haines of Pangaea Policy said on Monday that the initial market downturn could even out if deals are announced. "Quickly following this shallow dip is very likely to be multiple trade deals upside by midweek," he wrote, adding, "Watch particularly for a phase 1 US-India deal." This story has been updated with additional developments. Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance. Click here for political news related to business and money policies that will shape tomorrow's stock prices Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance