President Trump announced Tuesday that his administration had wrapped up a massive trade agreement with Japan, two weeks after threatening the US ally with 25% tariffs.

Aside from the question of growth, the question is whether policymakers can reorient the country’s future trajectory before serious problems set in.

U.S. Congress and the American public support a stronger alliance with Japan, and the Trump administration’s own strategy to compete with China cannot succeed without Japan’s help. But that does not seem to bother the president.