Trump's Tariffs: A Boon or Curse for Global Economy?

India is different from the rest of the world economies because its domestic fundamentals are clear and India has a demand-driven growth. It will have relative advantage among the Asian economies.

- ARVIND KUMAR

The unveiling of US President Donald Trump's "tariffs strategy" has raised debates among the members of the international community in general and the global economists and investors in particular on the specifics and whether these shifts in the United States economic policy will be a boon or a curse for the global economy.

The tariffs strategy included reciprocal actions on a number of countries including China and India. Though, the announcement made by President Trump has sent shockwaves around the world, the United States seems to be also experiencing the hit because of its impact on the global market. The investors around the globe have also shown disenchantment with President Trump's attempt to remake the economic order.

There is a dominant view emerging that a President has directly inflicted damage on the financial markets at a global scale. More importantly, Mr. Trump, despite all these growing concerns, is not showing any willingness in backing down from his policy. Trump's social media post that "my policies will never change" is a pointer to his adamant posturing in this regard. It must be emphasized here that the scale at which the tariffs have come up, it certainly will add to the ongoing economic recession which will fuel the global economic stress.

President Trump had always taken a stand that tariffs will help in restructuring the US economy and help bring manufacturing back so that the United States will become less dependent on foreign trade. Such reset in US policy reflects very little on the significance of the growing surge in economic interdependence across the world. It is perhaps foreign trade only which can boost the size and volume of the global economy.