USA President Donald Trump has paused the tariffs he had imposed just last week after the initial bleeding pf the stocks markets continued on Monday and Tuesday. The recovery witnessed on the markets after the pause announcement indicates that it was thus negative pressure that forced Mr Trump’s hand. However, he not only refused to pause the tariff on China, but raised it to 104 percent, as China raised its own tariff on US goods to 64 percent. The pause will allow negotiations with over 70 countries that Mr Trump says are seeking negotiation.
Mr Trump’s language reveals where he is coming from, and indicates why exactly he imposed the tariffs. He said those countries were “kissing my ass”. He also excoriated China for ‘not showing respect.’ That may be (too) colourful language, but it is not the language of a serious person. Apart from the volatility of temperament shown, it gives rise to the suspicion that he might have done what he did merely to show his strength// However, he should realize that he has not just offended a lot of countries, but made the word of the USA worthless. He seems to perceive the world as some sort of playground on which he is to posture. The inelegant use of language is also impolite, to say the least, and even considered by some as downright insulting. The basic. problem remains unchanged. The US is consuming more than it produces. Production has gone abroad to cheaper labour and a lot of US workers are unemployed. Maybe Mr Trump is beginning to walk back the tariffs as he realizes that industries which have gone bust will not be revived just by a few tariffs.
Another reason for the pause is that few countries have joined China in retaliating. Even Pakistan, supposedly one of China’s closest friends, has hastened to put itself in the ranks of those which have, as Mr Trump so elegantly put it, ‘kissed ass’. It seems that Mr Trump has decided to dispense with niceties of good manners, and wants the world to accept him as the foul-mouthed, obstreperous individual that he is. Mr Trump is proving one of the best advertisements against democracy around, and in favour of the seemingly more stable and staid Chinese leadership, which has risen though one-party rule.
