THE sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump have been termed the end of globalisation and free trade. In fact, it marks the end of US leadership worldwide. If trust is the most important criteria of leadership, the US has clearly lost the trust of the vast majority of countries and the global public.
The tariffs cannot be isolated from all the other extreme actions by the Trump regime: the pullout from a number of UN agencies, the attempted grab of Greenland and the Panama Canal, the confrontation with Europe over Ukraine, the support for the barbaric Israeli genocide in Gaza, the shutting down of USAID and Voice of America, the crackdown on free speech on US university campuses, the questionable quality of key Cabinet members, and much more. Collectively, these actions are devoid of any rationality, violate international agreements, human rights and the rule of law, and undermine the interests of large segments of the US public.
Trump is causing enormous short-term pain on the spurious claim that it will lead to long-term gain. Trust me, it will work, he says. But his right to swing his arms around stops where the rest of the world’s nose begins. He will find that out soon enough as other countries begin to do the same.
The Travel & Tourism industry will definitely be hit by the US “leadership” collapse. So will US businesses at large. Many civil society movements will rue the end of US support for democracy, freedom and human rights, and its replacement by dictatorships, oligarchies and might-is-right dealmakers.
The Trump regime (Round II) is only three months in power. A long way still to go.
Below is a compilation of the headlines that greeted the Trump “tariffquake”. Well worth preserving for posterity.
CAPTIONS:
Top::US President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order, on the day of his remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2025. Photo:: Reuters/Carlos Barria and published by CNN
Below: US President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at the White House in Washington, DC. Photo: AP/ Jacquelyn Martin and published by CNN
Front Page: US President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington, DC. Photo: AP/ Alex Brandon and published by CNN
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