A critic’s case for Trump’s tariffs
By dealing a final blow to the global trading system, the US president’s tariffs open up space for building a fairer, more development-friendly system
I do not like the current US president. I voted against Donald Trump for the third time last November. His disregard for the rule of law, democracy, pluralism, America’s alliances, and everything else that has made my country strong, special and great makes him a bitter pill to swallow. I view him as a danger to not only the United States but the world.
But broken clocks are correct twice a day. I share his disenchantment with the international trade system; it is irreparable and needs to be rebuilt. Despite being of America’s making, the system does not suit the US. It no longer serves the interests of America nor the many Global South nations whose development strategies are constrained by World Trade Organization rules outlawing the very industrial policies once used by today’s wealthy countries.
Trade accounted for 59 per cent of the world’s economy in 2023, bringing benefits to many, yet not all. Many religious believers of free trade use outdated economic ideas, such as David Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage, to explain how everyone benefits from trade and to justify their dogmatic disaffinity for any sort of trade intervention.