Commentary
President Donald Trump didn’t tiptoe back into the White House in 2025—he stormed in, unleashing tariffs on what he dubbed “Liberation Day,” April 2: 10 percent on all imports, 54 percent on China, 46 percent on Vietnam, 20 percent on the European Union (EU), and a sliding scale for others.
Trump has crowned himself king of dealmakers, claiming that everything is negotiable, from steel to soybeans to wars, if he is at the table. He is betting that the United States’ economic heft can bulldoze the world into submission—maybe through negotiation. China is snarling back, but Trump is cranking the dial, slapping another 50 percent on Chinese goods on April 7 and pushing tariffs to 104 percent, then 145 percent. Trump says China “badly” wants to talk but can’t find the phone.
