When Tariffs Become Toys

SWEEPING, TRADUSHING TARRIFS

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When Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 as America's 47th President, he did not come quietly. He came with tariffs. Sweeping, punishing, headline-grabbing tariffs and a conviction that trade deficits are a national emergency, that foreign countries have been ripping off America for decades, and that the solution is to tax imports until something changes. For over a year, the world has been living with the consequences.

The drama of Trump's second term has never been short of spectacle. There were threats to acquire Greenland, bold statements about Venezuela, and images of deported migrants in chains that shocked the international community. But it is the tariffs more than anything else that have left the deepest mark on ordinary people's wallets, on global supply chains, and on America's relationships with its closest allies and fiercest rivals alike.