tariffs

At Russia’s ‘Second Capital’ of St. Petersburg, leaders from several nations and economic organizations called for an ‘economy of trust’. The theme was aimed at combatting the selfish protectionist measures that have been emanating from various nations in Europe and, most notably, America, the latter of which has been levying tariffs both targeted and global in their scope, as well as economic sanctions, in an attempt to restore the heights of its glory days, when its economy represented half of the world’s GDP, in order to ‘Make America Great Again’.

On June 12, United States President Donald J. Trump was supposed to be the first POTUS to get the Korean leadership to sit down at the table of a possible peace treaty and nuclear disarmament. Getting this far into the process has been viewed as historic and unprecedented, which, in a way, it truly is, but has been somewhat of a rocky road and not entirely due to foreign parties.
Trump’s ‘Art’ of Deal Making

Following the tariffs on aluminum and steel, which the EU has an exemption on until the end of the month, Donald Trump is threatening new tariffs. This time, it’s about autos, and the tariff is reported to amount to around 25%, on the pretext that importing cars and trucks from other countries somehow threatens US national security.

India joins a host of other countries who are ticked off about America’s inflated and exceptionalist perception of its own importance in the world. The new presidential administration under Donald Trump came to power on the ‘America first’ mantra, that America should put its own interests before those of other nations.
But America has put itself in a position where it basically runs the show on the global markets, and has integrated itself to the degree that it can’t do anything without affecting everyone else.

Following Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear accord and reimposition of economic sanctions on the Middle Eastern country, the EU has been on a mission to find ways to work around or diametrically against those sanctions, citing the economic harm that would befall European firms who conduct business with or within Iran.

After Trump declared that doing business with China was bad business and bad for the US, because of America’s trade deficit with China and China’s alleged ‘unfair’ business practices, he levied tariffs on Chinese imports, which were quickly followed by Chinese retaliatory measures, which the US then countered with yet another round of tariffs.

Germany’s main commercial organization, the DIHK, representing nearly 80 chambers of commerce, is expressing concern that Trump’s ‘America First’ philosophy could threaten business relationships between the US and Germany.

Machiavelli once said “a man will sooner forget the death of his father than the loss of his patron”. Trump is doing exactly that to the whole world, one country at a time, while citing his ‘America first’ philosophy. He’s not waging hot wars on them, he’s hitting them right where it hurts most – the pocket book.

World leaders including Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have warned Trump that his protectionist policy is a lose-lose for the world [PPIO]
A number of prominent economists, including 14 Nobel prize winners, have warned the Trump administration that protectionist measures such as tariffs won’t only end in trade wars, particularly with China, but could lead to the type of depression which broke global markets in the 1930s.

File photo of US President Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has called on China and the US to resolve their looming trade disputes through the use of existing multilateral provisions and organizations.
Both countries have been locked in a war of words and threats over US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose substantial tariffs on Chinese goods entering US markets. China has responded by doing the same, largely focused on agricultural industries in the American heartland.