A Brief Look at Trump’s Global Profit Grab

When President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs, China, already hit with a tariff exceeding 20%, gained an additional 34% tariff. Some Southeast Asian countries were hit with even higher tariffs, including Cambodia with a 49% tariff, Laos with 48%, Vietnam with 46% and Sri Lanka with 44%, for example. Some analysis indicates that the tariffs were directed at the Chinese problem with “origin washing.”* Taiwan’s 32% tariff might also be related to this. In other words, the closer the countries are to China, the greater the punishment. This highlights that America’s anti-China policy remains the same, while Trump still acts in the interest of American supremacy.

Trump imposed a 10% base tariff on more than 180 countries that sell goods to the U.S. Not even islands exclusively inhabited by seals, penguins and other birds were spared. Russia, Belarus, Cuba and North Korea were not on the list, however, the explanation being that their trade value was zero or that they are already under sanctions. Yet Iran and Syria, also sanctioned, were hit with tariffs of 10% and 41%, respectively. Meanwhile, Canada and Mexico were not on the list, but the U.S. has already imposed 25% tariffs there.

Approximately 60 countries faced high reciprocal tariffs, even U.S. allies: the European Union, 20%; Japan, 24%; South Korea, 26%; and Switzerland, 32% — the same as Taiwan. It is hard to laugh given the suffering, but it feels like Trump is fooling around in wielding these tariffs, arbitrarily taking trade surplus and deficit data and adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing, all with an anti-China bent. The tariffs do not distinguish between friend or foe but rather show that Trump 2.0 wants to grab profit from around the world in his effort to make America great again.

The markets plunged as soon as Trump announced the tariffs, and the U.S. lost trillions of dollars. Still, Trump adamantly refused to change his policy. Even though people long predicted this reaction would take place long before Trump made his announcement, he knowingly went ahead anyway. Evidently, Trump believes that even though there will be some pain, he will achieve American supremacy if everything goes according to his plan. What a bold assessment. And his gambling gene is even stronger. 　

The tariff rate is unfair, unreasonable and full of holes. American media analysts say that China has already taken the lead in hitting back with countermeasures. After consideration, the EU and Asian countries will also respond. This tariff “machete” will push allies toward America’s enemies and will hurt Republicans at the ballot box. Still, many countries want to negotiate with the U.S. The EU proposed reducing all tariffs on industrial products to zero, for example. Trump is focused on pressuring China, saying he wants to avoid the trade war from getting worse and spreading. The war has already taken casualties, however. No one is benefiting, not even the U.S., and everyone is just trying to survive.

*Editor’s note: By the term “origin washing,” the author appears to be referring to the suggestion that goods from one country are rerouted through third-party nations, relabeled to evade tariffs and then reexported to other markets.