Editorial: Threat of the US tariff tantrum

Economic emergency: Trump’s reciprocal tariffs will affect electronics, automobiles, clothing and shoes, wines and spirits, and Swiss watches. — AFP

THE United States’ imposition of the so-called reciprocal tariffs on its trading partners is like an undersea earthquake that will create a tsunami of turbulence and trouble for the global economy.

The US administration has justified the move by citing a perceived loss of ground in international trade and the need for “reciprocity”. But this has been met with scepticism by most people except those in US President Donald Trump’s inner circle. By disregarding the balance of interests established through years of multilateral trade negotiations and over-looking its own substantial gains from international trade, the US is destabilising the global trade framework in the vain hope of regaining lost pre-eminence.