Trump's 90-day Reprieve Of Worldwide Tariffs On Most Countries

"Frankly speaking, we all know that provoking military and political instability, regional, and other conflicts is a helpful means of distracting the public from growing domestic social and economic problems in certain countries. Such attempts cannot be ruled out, unfortunately." ~ Vladimir Putin

"The decision-making process in the White House does not let most issues get up to the President. The Council thought opening up global markets to derivatives that would destabilize other countries wasn't likely to create a lot of jobs in the U.S. and might adversely affect U.S. interests by causing global economic instability." ~ Joseph Stiglitz

I consider it a shameless and hostile gesture, one that reveals an aggressive and desperate plan, economic blackmail disguised as nationalist zeal, more so of ultra-nationalistic than anything else. My understanding is that Trumpism not only utilizes America's economic clout, through tariffs, trade barriers, and economic leverage, to protect domestic businesses. It uses that leverage to try to redesign the world order to the United States' advantage at China's expense.

In my opinion, the message is clear, negotiate with us or else. It puts countries in a lose-lose position, especially when the U.S. is a major trading partner or when the world financial system is still based on the dollar. The 90-day reprieve tactic is a nod to an old mob technique, break the system, then vow to fix it, but on your terms.

And China? China is being presented as an existential economic threat to Trump's Americana empire.

I cannot help but see this as the thrashing of an empire whose grip is faltering. Trumpism in all its bravado, its unpredictability, and its ultranationalism is not policy, it is a symptom. The world is shifting, China is rising, BRICS are expanding, the Global South is gaining more autonomy, and even traditional allies are starting to hedge their bets.

Trumpism tries to enforce a black-and-white thinking, like his predecessor George Bush Jr., "either you're with us, or against us." I don't believe that kind of thinking has any chance in our interdependent, complex economies, social media and multipolar world.