When tariffs are suicidal

America’s ‘Liberation Day’: Trump announcing the reciprocal tariff rates for the rest of the world at the White House in Washington DC on April 2. — Reuters

TRUE to form, the first half of Trump 2.0 reflects the second half of Trump 1.0 – spiralling tariffs amounting to a trade war.

The difference is that the 2018-2020 tariffs were directed against China, while the “reciprocal” (as Trump calls them) tariffs from next Wednesday are directed against the rest of the world. As various countries plot retaliation, it has become multiple trade wars. With tariffs on US neighbours Canada and Mexico, then European Union countries, and then other US allies, friends, and partners, Trump declared tariffs are being taken “to a whole new level”. The implications go beyond trade, as does the prospect of backfiring.