British media: Japan's trust in the United States is rapidly disappearing in a dramatic way.

Tariffs have been postponed for implementation. But with the emergence of a new global order, geopolitical plates are already shifting.

Lord Gillian Tett, Master of King's College, Cambridge, and columnist for the Financial Times, said that as China's influence and strength rise, many emerging market countries are turning to the East, becoming alternative options to the US-led international order.

"We also see some traditionally allied nations with the US - especially the EU, and to some extent Japan - being shocked by the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. They sometimes quietly, sometimes openly seek more self-sufficient methods, and frankly, they often look for alternatives."

After changing the tariff decisions, it can be seen that the US target is aimed at China. Many world leaders face the problem of choosing sides. However, Gillian Tett believes that Trump's economic strategy is not just about readjusting global goods flow.

"They use tariffs both as a strategy and as a weapon to push for a major reset of the entire global system. But they are increasingly using tariffs as a way to raise revenue and address national debt."

Tariffs are not a single deterrent to allies and enemies, but rather a piece of the larger puzzle - Trump wants to address America's massive debt.

Currently, US debt has ballooned to $36 trillion, exceeding the size of the entire US economy. A large portion of this - approximately $1 trillion - is purchased by countries like Japan. These countries export large quantities of goods to the US and receive payment in dollars. However, Tokyo uses these dollars to buy US Treasury bonds, which strengthens the dollar.

"If the dollar strengthens, it will be detrimental to exports and make it difficult to compete with goods from countries like Japan. Therefore, the US government began to indicate that we want to keep the dollar as a reserve currency, but we do not want its value to be too strong because it would weaken our own industrial base."

"So they are trying to solve this seemingly insolvable contradiction: on one hand, they want the dollar to continue supporting the global financial system, while on the other hand, they want the dollar to depreciate," Gillian Tett said.

Rumors are circulating that there is a core document in Trump's plan called the "Mar-a-Lago Accord." This document allegedly aims to threaten foreign governments holding US Treasury bonds with tariffs to force them to accept lower investment returns.

The impact of such measures on the global financial system is unclear. But it is certain that this will shock America's trading partners and accelerate their formulation of countermeasures. Gillian Tett believes that one of them is promoting cooperation between European leaders from military defense to economic finance.

"The greatest irony of Trump's 'Make America Great Again' movement may be that he instead planted the seeds for Europe's 'Make Europe Great Again'... In history, we have seen that European leaders always need a crisis to reach sufficient consensus and take action. And Trump's radical actions may be creating such a crisis."

Japan is caught in a dilemma. "It is traditionally a close ally of the US, still hoping to support the US, and does not want neighboring countries to dominate Asia, but at the same time, Japan's trust in the US is rapidly disappearing in a dramatic way," she said.

Source: BBC

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1830796822561795/

Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's personal views.