Growth via disruption

TRUMP ECONOMICS: VIEWS TARIFFS AS A LEVER TO FORCE RESTRUCTURING

- Francois Stofberg

U.S. President Donald Trump's economic agenda is taking shape around bold, executive-led reforms aimed at reindustrialising the United States, restoring fiscal strength and reasserting national sovereignty in global trade.

While critics call it chaotic or protectionist, Trump's strategy is better understood as a deliberate reset, using tools of disruption to catalyse long-term economic renewal.

With sweeping tariffs, a government-wide efficiency drive, deregulation, energy expansion and tax reform on the table, the question is not whether the strategy is conventional, it is whether it is effective.

Tariffs: Not protectionism but strategic pressure Trump's announcement of a 10% universal import tariff, with higher rates on goods from trade surplus countries, was branded a "declaration of economic independence." Yet, despite appearances, these tariffs are not intended as permanent protection.

The administration views tariffs as a lever to force restructuring: bringing supply chains home, creating space for US industries to recalibrate, and ultimately allowing domestic producers to compete on a fairer footing.