Donald Trump’s trade wars are turning the global economy upside down, going against the liberal principles that have governed world trade and finance for over 80 years. The President of the United States, on the basis of economically dubious findings and criteria, has decided to unilaterally impose huge tariffs on other countries around the world. This brutal method is destabilising the financial world, and all the world’s stock market indices have plummeted in recent days. On 7 April, there was even talk of a ‘Black Monday’, comparable to that of 1987.
This escalation of taxes has reached its climax with China’s great rival. On Wednesday, Trump raised tariffs against China to 104%, and China retaliated by announcing that it wanted to raise taxes on American imports from 34% to 84%. World markets are in a fog and their fall is accelerating: the disorder created by the occupant of the White House could lead to inflation and recession, with the Americans being the first victims, followed by everyone else.
Update on Thursday 10 April: Donald Trump made a U-turn on Wednesday 9 April, suspending reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, reducing them to 10%, with the exception of China, for which they have been increased again to 125%.
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