Fasten your seatbelts, the rough ride unfolds! 

Conversations about U.S. President Donald Trump’s relations with other countries have gripped the entire world. Firstly, China. Trump has also punished China by imposing an additional 20% tariff on imports from the country, plus a further 34% on April 2nd. China then immediately imposed a retaliatory tariff of 34% on imported U.S. goods. And on April 7th, Trump, in a show of defiance, imposed an additional 50% tariff on Chinese goods. The total tariff on imported Chinese goods is now a staggering 125%! 

However, this might have serious negative consequences for both countries since China is America’s third largest trading partner (China in 2024 accounted for 14% of America’s total trade with the world). Since China imports large quantities of agricultural products from the U.S., then tariffs imposed by China on these products will adversely affect farmers in the U.S., many of whom live in Trump’s heartlands – deep red Republican states like Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma. China and the U.S. are also the world’s two largest economies, and between them produce 47% of the world’s manufactured goods. 

China will also remain defiant in the likelihood of further tariffs and ‘it will fight to the end’. According to its Ministry of Commerce: “China will resolutely take counter measures to safeguard its own rights and interests. Pressuring or threatening China is not the way to engage… These tariffs are a typical move of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying.” An all-out trade war – an economic nuclear war – between the U.S. and China could have a seismic impact on the world economy. 

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also warned the U.S.: “There are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars.” Only loss of jobs and rising prices. And the Chinese Ministry of Commerce again also issued a statement saying that tariffs undermine normal economic and trade cooperation. Canada, Mexico and China are America’s top three trading partners and, together in 2024, accounted for a staggering 53% of America’s trade with the whole world. And yet Trump wants to clobber these countries with tariffs. Trump should heed the words of Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau: “The better path is to partner with Canada, not to punish us.” Wise words, indeed. 

The U.S. has also imposed a 25% tariff on all imported aluminium and steel imports into the U.S. This will hit hard on steel producing countries such as China, Germany, South Korea and India, and aluminium producers including China, India and Canada. However, the U.S. may also be negatively affected since 58% of aluminium imported into the U.S. comes from Canada. Plus, a 25% tariff on all automobile imports from any country into the U.S. And that is bad news for the European Union (E.U.) since Germany is a major exporter of vehicles to the U.S. – think Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, Opel… And on April 2nd, Trump imposed a further 20% tariff on imports from the E.U. Such moves could have serious repercussions for both the E.U. and the U.S. since the E.U. is one of America’s leading trading partners. 

Since Trump’s declaration of new tariffs on April 2nd, stock markets have tumbled across the world, and on April 7th, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong ended 13% down, its worst one-day loss since the 1997 financial crisis. So far, trillions of dollars have been wiped off stocks worldwide. His tariffs could spark a global trade war, and even a worldwide depression as what happened in the 1930s. But Trump still refuses to change course saying simply that the tariffs are ‘medicine that the world economy has to swallow’ after which everyone will be wealthy. Really? 

Next country targeted by Trump – Panama. This is home to the Panama Canal, a 100- kilometre-long canal that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. Opened in 1914, the area along the canal, known as the Canal Zone, was initially controlled by the U.S. But in 1999, the Republic of Panama assumed full control of the canal. Trump has now criticised the Panamanian government of two things. Firstly, he claims that the rates that Panama were charging American ships were ‘exorbitant’, and secondly, Panama is allowing the Chinese too much control over the operations of the canal. For these reasons, Trump is threatening to invade the country and seize the canal. Violating the sovereignty of another country? In reply, the Panamanian president, José Raúl Mulino, denied that the U.S. was being unfairly charged, or that anyone besides Panama was in full control of the canal. Next, Ukraine. In recent weeks, the U.S. has withheld military aid and intelligence information to the Ukraine government. Also, Trump is pressuring Ukraine to sell its rare earth minerals to the U.S. in exchange for U.S. assistance in ending the war against Russia. Obey me or else? In the ‘punch up’ in the Oval Office last month between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump, Trump insulted Zelensky. Also, he has called him a dictator and for doing a ‘terrible job’, one reason being that he has not called elections since 2019. But nations do not run elections in war time for security reasons; also, governments need to be focused on the war effort and not to be distracted by other events. After all, the U.K. never ran an election during World war 11 which lasted six years. But the U.K. is not a dictatorship! 

So far, we have discussed Trump’s relationships with nations that are allies of the U.S. And we have seen that Trump has nothing but disrespect and contempt for them. Now the U.S. has also many potential enemies on the planet. And whereas he has been saying that many of his allies are doing ‘bad things’, ‘terrible, horrible things’ and that they are harming the U.S., little criticism has been levelled at these enemies. 

But ‘rocket man’ Kim Jong Un in North Korea is doing terrible things to his people since many of them are starving while he spends billions on producing new missiles. And he claims that some of them can even reach the U.S. and cause havoc there! And the same is true for Iran which is being accused of secretly developing the technology to produce nuclear weapons. Also, the Taliban government in Afghanistan is doing terrible things by denying women their rights. 

And Trump is bowing down to Russian president Vladimir Putin and offering too many concessions to him in his attempt to end the conflict in Ukraine. But it seems that he is not demanding any concessions from Putin! And the Russian leader has laid down many conditions for any ceasefire in the Ukraine. These include the disbanding of Ukraine’s armed forces, no E.U. peacekeeping forces to be allowed in Ukraine despite Zelensky’s demand for security guarantees, no NATO membership for Ukraine, retention of all Russian occupied areas in the Ukraine which make up some 20% of Ukraine territory… 

Yet Trump remains largely silent and seems to support authoritarian totalitarian regimes, run by dictatorial tyrants, more than his allies most of which are democracies. In February this year, to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, members of the United Nations voted on a motion that stated that Russia had invaded Ukraine, thus starting the war there. But the U.S. voted against the motion alongside dictatorships – China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Belarus… And yet the Founding Fathers of the U.S. emphasised the importance of upholding democratic principles. And the U.S. did not impose any tariffs on Russia, North Korea and Belarus on April 2nd! Trump’s foreign policy seems to be in tatters. Put on your seat belts; we are expecting some serious turbulence for the foreseeable future – we are in for a rough ride!