Tariff policy fails to produce 'endless wins', only perpetuates self-inflicted harm

The recent announcement that the United States is doubling the tariffs on imported steel and aluminum has been met with widespread concern and objections from many of its key trading partners around the world.

The move, purportedly aimed at safeguarding the US steel industry, was announced on Friday while US President Donald Trump was visiting the US Steel Corporation — Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. The higher tariff, effective on Wednesday, was swiftly denounced by many as being unreasonable, unfriendly, and disruptive of global trade dynamics.

Canada, which stands to bear a significant economic burden due to the tariff escalation, given it is the US' largest trading partner and largest supplier of steel and aluminum, has voiced strong objections to the tariff hike, as have Australia and the European Union.

The Canadian steel industry painted a grim picture of potential catastrophic unemployment, slowed production, and disruptions in the supply chain, underscoring the far-reaching implications of the US decision. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has warned that both countries will pay a huge price for the move, as raising steel and aluminum tariffs is contrary to North American economic security and undermines the efficient, competitive and reliable cross-border supply chain between the US and Canada in the steel and aluminum fields.

The European Commission has also expressed deep concern over the increased tariffs, citing heightened uncertainty in the global economy and a setback to ongoing negotiation efforts. Germany, as the leading steel producer in the EU, faces the brunt of the tariff increase within the bloc, with the German Steel Federation warning of escalating transatlantic trade conflicts and mounting pressure on the European steel industry.

There is also opposition to the move within the US. The country's construction companies have warned that the tariff increase will push up the prices of key building materials, thereby increasing the cost of building homes, and US consumers will have to pay more for everything from cans of soda to cars.

It is worth noting that two days before Trump announced the move, the US Court of International Trade blocked the US administration's tariff policy announced on April 2 — the much-vaunted "Liberation Day" — from taking effect, ruling that the tariff policy was "overreaching". The US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals then approved the administration's request to temporarily shelve the court's ruling.

So Trump's Friday announcement can be seen as the administration's stern response to judicial authorities challenging its practice of power, as well as an indication that it still blindly believes pressing ahead with its tariff policy is the only way for the US economy to escape the mess it is in.

Although he made the announcement while bragging his administration had managed to secure Japanese investment in the iconic US steel company while the US retained ownership of it to prove his tariff policy is producing results, how that deal will fare remains to be seen.

Whatever the outcome, the US cannot reshape the world economic and trade order by simply weaponizing tariffs. It is the US economy that will suffer from the Trump administration's unrealistic and costly experiment that is doomed to failure.

Although the US president insists that the tariff policy is just a negotiation tactic, instead of the promised "endless wins", what Trump has reaped so far from his "art of the deal" is only endless and tiring trade negotiations with almost all major economies to resolve a trade war that leaves no party unscathed.

Unilateral tariff escalation cannot redefine global trade norms. Instead, the US economy risks bearing the brunt of this self-defeating approach, alienating allies and destabilizing its own markets.

The administration's attempt to deflect blame onto its predecessors and other countries fails to mask the inherent flaws of the tariff policy. The path to a prosperous future for the US lies not in unilateral actions, but in fostering inclusive and cooperative trade relationships that uphold the principles of fairness, transparency and shared prosperity.