The first victims of the US trade war

The world is still waiting to learn the full impact of the trade war unleashed by Donald Trump, but for now, some sectors within the United States are beginning to pay a heavy price. The stock market has plummeted in recent days. Since the beginning of the year, the former has lost 50% of its value, the latter 40%, and the latter 35%. The number of people crossing the border en masse is growing, and this is affecting many businesses in the northeastern states. Those who would visit the United States this year now estimate a similar decline of 9.4%.

This is just one of the side effects of a way of doing things that culminates in the tariff war, but which practically dates back to the first days of his term, when Trump adopted an imperialist tone (he began talking about annexing Canada and Greenland) and one of superiority over the rest. The objective is to force all countries to pay, renegotiate trade agreements, and gain advantages through prior blackmail. But, lo and behold, with a globalized and interconnected economy like today's, trying to harm your adversary ends up harming you yourself. This happens in the tourism and aeronautical sectors, but also with soybean producers who import their production (and who are basically located in Republican states), textiles (what will happen to companies like Nike that manufacture in China?), and electronic devices (Apple also produces in China).

It seems that the White House is just now realizing the effects of its policies, and that explains the about-faces, such as the decision to exclude electronic devices from the tariffs, probably out of fear that cell phones would rise in price. Trump, however, acts like a medieval king, raising or lowering his finger, regardless of whether it concerns countries or products, hoping that everyone will bend to his wishes. But it remains to be seen what will happen when his electoral base begins to suffer the consequences of such a misguided and erratic policy.