TRUMP’S sweeping tariffs—targeting a broad range of countries, including Asean nations and other key trade partners, with rates ranging from 24% (Malaysia) to 49% (Cambodia)—represent perhaps the most aggressive US protectionist turn since the Smoot-Hawley tariffs of the 1930s.
Yet, a closer examination beneath the dramatic posturing reveals that this latest confrontation is less a coherent and practical trade strategy than a politically expedient gambit—one that underscores the fragility of US leverage in an increasingly decentralised global economy.
