President Trump's Decisions Will Set The Global Order

We are heading towards a world order that raises the possibility of regional conflicts

- SHASHI SHEKHAR

When you make a pact with the devil, he always comes back to get his due. I wish Volodymyr Zelensky had remembered this before getting into a confrontation with Russia. Had that been the case, his country would have saved itself from ruin. What the Ukrainians are subject to today is the result of a double-cross by the U.S. The 180-degree shift in U.S. attitude towards Ukraine has rattled the world.

On March 5, in his address to the nation, U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that after Mexico, Canada, and China, he would slap tariffs on other countries, including India and Brazil, that are equal to what they have put on U.S. products in their respective countries. As expected, the countries retaliated, and the share markets globally reacted adversely.

Stunned by global resistance on the issue, Trump suspended the new tariff orders on three countries till April 2. But can he implement the tariffs in April?

Many economists believe the global markets will see an economic downturn if Trump's petulance prevails on April 2. Only time will tell how long such a downturn would last, if and when it sets in. But what's clear now is that the coming months will be economically hard for the lower middle class and the poor. If the tariff war resumes in April, inflation will hit new peaks.