By Daanyaal Matthews
The global tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump have caused an instant reaction from global leaders, with some responding with their own tariffs and others opening negotiations to better their standing with the North American state.
The European Union has reiterated their appeal for dialogue with Washington, while countries such as China have responded to the tariffs with their own, leading to a global economic tit-for-tat.
Dialogue and diplomacy have not been the modus operandi for the US president, who remains staunch on his economic policy and has encouraged world leaders to respond by lowering their tariffs for a return to normalcy.
Speaking on VOC NewsBeat, Doctor Oscar van Heerden, international relations expert, explains that the lack of diplomacy would work with smaller nation-states but would not hold ground against states like Russia or China, which have the economic backing to hold steady against US tariffs.
“There are small economies, such as ourselves and others, that are going to get the negative impacts of these tariffs. But there are also going to be the big players, like China, India, Russia, Indonesia, and others, that are simply going to say, We are not playing this game,” states van Heerden.
Trump has backed his decision to introduce the tariffs by pointing to the tariffs imposed by other nation-states; however, for van Heerden, the reality is that the United States has begun the process of weaponizing trade, forcing rational actors to find alternatives.
“Trump, and his administration, might think everyone is against the United States—they are seeing enemies where there are none. The truth of the matter is that everyone is going to try and look at alternatives because it is the United States that has decided to weaponize trade. It is the United States that has decided to weaponize the US dollar,” argued van Heerden.
Listen to the full interview here:
Photo: Pexels
