1 week Ago
The United States’ recent decision to exempt smartphones, computers, and consumer electronics from Trump-era global tariffs is, if nothing else, a quiet admission that much of its protectionist economic policymaking has been reactive rather than rational. That these exemptions come after years of disruption is further proof that trade threats made in haste often collapse under the weight of global economic reality. This policy backtrack highlights what many economists and political analysts — both within the US and beyond — have been warning for years: the current trajectory of US economic nationalism is alienating allies, destabilising markets, and reinforcing a dangerous insularity.
Tariffs that were justified in the name of competitiveness and national security have largely ended up raising prices, restricting access, and diminishing global confidence in the so-called leader of the free world. Ironically, while attempting to insulate itself from global dependence, the US has only showcased how deeply enmeshed it remains in global supply chains — and how reliant it is on the very countries it tries to strong-arm. Such inconsistency not only reflects poor economic foresight but also contributes to a larger, more worrying pattern: the slow corrosion of US global credibility.
We hope this exemption signals a broader rethink within Washington — one where engagement, not economic aggression, becomes the norm. A nation does not strengthen its position by isolating itself; it does so by building stable, predictable relationships that do not swing at the mercy of political theatre. Talks, Not Threats As the global economic order evolves, the US would do well to abandon the tantrum-style tactics of tariffs and trade wars and instead commit to multilateralism with the humility of a stakeholder, not the arrogance of a superpower still living off the memory of yesterday’s dominance.
Tags: tariffs tantrums.
