Trump Instigates the Next Tariff War — Just as Absurd as Before
The president is angry with Canada and Brazil for now. But it will soon be the rest of the world’s turn — to the detriment of his own economy.
Donald Trump cannot stay still. After realizing that he couldn’t reach a satisfying conclusion in the war with Iran, a decisive victory or a stable peace, he is now turning to his other passion: the tariff war with the rest of the world.
Canada is the first to be bombarded with new tariffs, for no good reason, on the basis of an obscure clause from the infamous Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930. The northern neighbor and its impressive prime minister, Mark Carney, are Trump’s mortal enemies. The forest fires that are polluting America’s air annoy him, but Trump’s policies against climate action are contributing to them. And it likely bothered him that only he and not Carney was booed at the World Cup finale. Now Canada has to pay the price even if the courts will probably declare the tariffs illegal again.
Brazil in His Sights
Brazil is supposed to be affected next. It is successfully operating a digital payment system that is a thorn in the side of American financial corporations and the crypto industry. On Friday, the expiration date of the 10% tariffs that Trump imposed after the Supreme Court enforced the reversal of his “Liberation Day” measure, all other trade partners will have to adjust to new, capricious actions from Washington.
Countries are better prepared for this today than a year ago; Trump’s tariff wrath is no longer to be feared. Still, he is inflicting harm all over the world – and on the United States itself most of all.
Donald Trump cannot stay still. After realizing that he couldn’t reach a satisfying conclusion in the war with Iran, a decisive victory or a stable peace, he is now turning to his other passion: the tariff war with the rest of the world.
Canada is the first to be bombarded with new tariffs, for no good reason, on the basis of an obscure clause from the infamous Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930. The northern neighbor and its impressive prime minister, Mark Carney, are Trump’s mortal enemies. The forest fires that are polluting America’s air annoy him, but Trump’s policies against climate action are contributing to them. And it likely bothered him that only he and not Carney was booed at the World Cup finale. Now Canada has to pay the price even if the courts will probably declare the tariffs illegal again.
Brazil in His Sights
Brazil is supposed to be affected next. It is successfully operating a digital payment system that is a thorn in the side of American financial corporations and the crypto industry. On Friday, the expiration date of the 10% tariffs that Trump imposed after the Supreme Court enforced the reversal of his “Liberation Day” measure, all other trade partners will have to adjust to new, capricious actions from Washington.
Countries are better prepared for this today than a year ago; Trump’s tariff wrath is no longer to be feared. Still, he is inflicting harm all over the world – and on the United States itself most of all.
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