C. P. Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh (posted on IDEAS blog, 1 April 2025) observe that the weaponization of tariffs by US President Donald Trump has generated fear and loathing across the world. These threats are not only purely performative; nor are they just transactional in nature. The logic of these tariff threats in most cases is questionable at best, and the declared aims are varied: from demanding “parity” of tariffs with trading partners no matter what their level of development, to seeing any bilateral trade deficits with other countries as inherently problematic, to viewing threats of tariffs as a measure to force other policy changes on the part of the trading partner. The latest announcement of tariffs of 25 per cent on any country that buys Venezuelan oil is just the most recent egregious example.
However, despite the variety of justifications and the frequent and dizzying reversals of trade policy that have already become a hallmark of Trump II, it is clear that these threats cannot be discounted and must be taken seriously. How the rest of the world responds to these is therefore critically important.
In full here
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