Old world order is dying, emerging order is scary

When you make a pact with the devil, he always comes back to collect his dues.

- Shashi Shekhar

When you make a pact with the devil, he always comes back to collect his dues. I wish Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky remembered these words of wisdom before getting into a confrontation with Russia. Had he heeded this advice, he and his countrymen would have saved themselves from the ruin that has become their destiny in the last 1,000 days or so.

The change in the US's attitude towards Ukraine since the beginning of the second Donald Trump presidency has rattled the world. On March 5, in his address to the joint session of the US Congress, President Trump asserted that after Mexico, Canada, and China, he would slap tariffs on countries such as India and Brazil. Expectedly, there was retaliation and the share markets globally reacted adversely. Since then, Trump has suspended the new tariff orders on three countries till April 2. Will he implement them in April?

Many economists believe the global markets will plunge into chaos if Trump's petulance prevails on April 2. Only time will tell whether the global economy faces a downturn and if yes, for when and how long it will last. But what's clear is that the coming months are going to be tough for the lower middle class and the poor. If the tariff war resumes in April, inflation will hit new heights.