Abuse of tariff measures likely to backfire

The United States' new tariff push is likely to backfire by accelerating the de-dollarization trend and potentially prompting sell-offs of US Treasuries by major foreign debt holders, leading economists and currency experts said.

"With the abuse of tariff measures, the US is changing itself from a 'maker and defender' of international rules to a 'destroyer and coercer'," Zhao Zhongxiu, president of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said in an exclusive interview with China Daily.

The US' "reciprocal tariffs", which were announced on Wednesday and include a 10 percent "minimum baseline tariff" and higher rates on certain trading partners, are expected to deal a heavy blow to the multilateral trade system and global commercial practices, while leading to greater economic isolation of the US, Zhao said.