Trump’s Tariff Barrage and the Collapse of Trade Liberalism
In the Name of Allah---the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. Introduction The recent imposition of so-called “reciprocal” Trump’s Tariff by US President Donald Trump marks a turning point in the history of global economic relations. No longer confined to China or North America, these measures now affect a wide range of countries, allies and adversaries alike. Far from being reciprocal, as the administration claims, these tariffs are steep, often arbitrary, and rooted in a flawed understanding of global trade dynamics. Their effects are not merely economic but systemic — threatening to unravel decades of painstaking efforts at global trade liberalization and exposing developing economies to a perfect storm of external shocks. The End of the Post-WWII Trade Consensus Since the end of World War II, the world economy has been shaped by a consensus around multilateralism, liberalization, and the mutual gains from free trade. Institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Gen...