Tariff Madness

Once again Trump has blinked. After watching the stock market collapse in the US and warnings by economists and banks of the near certainty of a US recession, Trump paused his tariffs on almost all countries except China for another 90 day period.

The stock markets swung up on this news and in any other dimension surely someone will wonder if anyone was using any insider information to make huge monies on the stock and bond markets.

What looks to me like a panic reaction to collapsing stock prices is branded by Republicans as brilliant negotiation skills. I fail to see any intelligence in any of the recent actions on tariffs by Trump.

I think it was the fear of a stock market collapse, fear of recession in the US, huge discontent within the US on the impact on higher prices on everyday goods and the fear of a coordinated tariff strike back by all the other countries that caused Trump to back down.

However he has maintained his tariffs on China because it is “ripping off” the US. I wonder if this is an attempt to isolate China from the rest of the world.

In any case, this is only a 90 day pause. How should countries respond? Negotiateor hold back and see? Perhaps form alliances with other countries in the meantime?

Whatever happens, the US has shown itself to be a utterly unreliable trading partner and ally. The loss of credibility is immense and I wonder if the US will ever gain the trust and confidence of other countries ever.