Reference News Network, July 18 report - The UK's Financial Times website published an article titled "Tariffs Make a Comeback, Will Trump Back Down?" on July 15. The author is the newspaper's chief economic commentator Martin Wolf. The main content is translated as follows:

US President Trump has an almost obsessive fondness for tariffs. Now, he has presented an adjusted list of tariffs targeting many countries, including close allies and impoverished nations, which are expected to take effect on August 1. Will he back down this time? No one can say for sure. But it is difficult for him to reach agreements that could calm his irrational mercantilist views - the possibility is nearly zero. If no agreement is reached, the US' average effective tariff level, which already reached 8.8% in May, will eventually rise sharply. We will enter a new world.

It should be emphasized that the economic logic behind the US' threat of tariffs is absurd. There is absolutely no reason for bilateral trade to remain balanced, and an imbalance does not mean that the surplus country is "cheating".

As long as the rest of the world is willing to provide capital inflows to the US, the US cannot maintain huge fiscal deficits without facing massive trade and current account deficits. What if the world stops doing so? It would trigger a financial crisis.

At the same time, the unreasonable tariffs currently proposed will lead to significant misallocation of resources. Trump's tariff measures will sacrifice the most internationally competitive economic sectors to benefit the least competitive ones. Focusing solely on past important products is absurd; what matters is future competitiveness. Trying to make America great again by protecting backward industries is almost a fantasy.

In addition, these tariffs are not only foolish but also immoral.

The proposed tariffs on Laos by the US are cruel. According to data from the International Monetary Fund, Laos is extremely poor. In 2024, Laos' bilateral goods trade surplus with the US was only less than $800 million! A superpower considering imposing punitive tariffs on such a country is simply absurd, even shocking. According to CNN, "Between 1964 and 1973, the US dropped over 200,000 tons of bombs on Laos... The number of bombs dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War was more than the total number of bombs dropped on Germany and Japan during World War II. Laos became the country with the highest per capita bombing in history." Considering this, the act of taxing is truly heinous. Do these people have no sense of shame?

The White House claims that this administration has "the best trade negotiators in history." In fact, it is highly unlikely to reach agreements with nearly 200 countries and regions within just a few months.

So how should we deal with this madness? First, we should hope that Trump once again backs down, although the uncertainty caused by this will still cost us dearly. Second, we must retaliate against the US, preferably jointly. Third, all members of the World Trade Organization should declare that any trade concessions made to the US should also apply to other members under the "most-favored-nation" principle. Finally, other members should also abide by their agreements with each other. The US has strayed from the right path, but the rest of the world need not follow suit. (Translated by Hu Guanghe)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7528326188968837675/

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