How Donald Trump blackmailed the world, and got away with it
With tariffs, deportations and threats to annex territory of allies and friendly countries Donald Trump really knows how to destroy long groomed relations with countries the US benefits from. Trump claims that all countries would only send products to the US, but not buy, leaving the US with a a trade deficit. While that might be true, it's a fact since decades. Then make better products to appeal Europeans! But none of the then incumbent US presidents addressed this issue with tariffs. Setting COVID-19 and other not calculable factors aside, the US still fared pretty well. To me Trumps appears to be shortsighted to slap tariffs onto its long standing allies, because with retaliating "Dollar-for-Dollar", like Canada does. This might backfire badly for the US, and not just in the short term as Trump promises. But Canada will suffer too. It remains to be seen who has the longer breath. Soon after elected, but before taking the office in the White House he lines out tari...