Toxic tariff policy heralds US recession and greater uncertainty for world trade

It is Washington's firm belief that the United States only stands to win in the tariff war it is waging against the rest of the world. That has made it addicted to weaponizing tariffs in a bid to "make America great again".

But that conviction is nothing but wishful thinking, as in the interconnected world no economy can sustain its growth by inflicting pain on others, as evidenced by the boomerang effects the tariff war has had on the US economy.

After the market saw the US leader would not change his mind at the last moment and the US would go ahead with a 25 percent additional tariff on all imported steel and aluminum on Wednesday, all three major US stock indices fell by a large margin. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 index fell 9.3 percent from its historical high in February, while the Nasdaq fell 13.6 percent from its historical high in December.