What US President Donald Trump heralded as “Liberation Day” is nothing more than a shortsighted and economically reckless campaign veiled in nationalistic theatrics. By announcing a 10 percent blanket tariff on all imports and an additional set of “reciprocal” tariffs targeting 60 countries, Trump is not liberating the American economy — he is shackling it to an outdated illusion of unilateral supremacy.
These tariffs are not the sword of Damocles hanging over global trade; they are a flailing gesture of impotence in the face of a system that has moved far beyond the hegemony of a single actor. The belief that the United States can unilaterally reengineer the whole global trading system through disruptive levies is not only outdated but also empirically false.
The notion that the US remains the indispensable force in the global trade system is a myth that has long outlived its accuracy. The US today accounts for only 13 percent of global goods imports, a sharp decline from nearly 20 percent two decades ago. This erosion of influence is not just statistical; it is structural. However, the remarkable diversity, resilience, and agility of a multipolar trade environment should reassure us. The idea that Washington can strong-arm the rest of the world into economic submission disregards the adaptability of the global trade system. Trade no longer pivots around a single axis. They are fluid, adaptive, and increasingly centered on regional and bilateral frameworks in which the US has less leverage than it would like to admit.
The boldest evidence of this shift comes from data-driven analysis, not political fantasy. The latest research from the DHL and New York University’s Stern School of Business reveals a striking reality: Even if the US were to halt all goods imports overnight, 70 of its trading partners could fully recover their lost export volumes within one year by shifting to alternative markets. Within five years, 115 countries would have completed the transition entirely. This is not speculative optimism; it is grounded in observed diversification trends and sustained export growth in other regions. The world is not waiting for Trump’s permission to trade; it is a global network that is moving on without him.
Nowhere is this more evident than in China’s ascendancy, which has steadily cemented its position as a central pillar of global commerce. Rather than engaging in erratic posturing, China has constructed durable trade relationships across continents, driven by a coherent long-term strategy. It is not only the world’s largest exporter but also a vital importer, facilitating supply chains that span every industry from consumer electronics to industrial machinery. The assumption that punitive tariffs can meaningfully disrupt this trade architecture is as naive as it is arrogant.
Yet, under the new US tariff regime, China is being disproportionately targeted. A combined 54 percent tariff — comprising a preexisting 20 percent duty and an additional 34 percent “reciprocal” penalty — has been levied against Chinese goods. This figure is not incidental; it is a calculated escalation aimed at economically cornering a competitor that continues to outpace the US in trade volume, manufacturing output, and global integration. But Washington’s gambit is destined to fail. Trade is not a zero-sum game, and the attempt to economically isolate China through unilateral tariffs will not coerce it into submission. Instead, it will accelerate its pivot toward deeper ties with Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East and Europe, where demand for Chinese goods and investment remains robust.
What Trump fails to grasp is the fundamental nature of trade imbalances and the intricacies of supply chains. These are not the product of “plundering” or foreign “exploitation” — they are the result of corporate decisions, consumer preferences, and comparative advantages. The notion that raising import taxes will suddenly bring factories back to Detroit or Pittsburgh is economic folklore, not policy. Even if foreign competition were to be eliminated, domestic manufacturing would not surge. Jobs lost over the past three decades have not all gone overseas; they have been automated out of existence to a large extent. No tariff can reverse that technological displacement.
Meanwhile, American consumers will bear the brunt of these reckless tax measures. The across-the-board 10 percent import duty is, effectively, a regressive tax on households. It raises the cost of everyday goods — from clothing and electronics to automobiles and food — at a time when inflation is already eroding real wages. It is disingenuous at best and deceitful at worst to claim that these tariffs will benefit American consumers in any way. They will not. Their impact will be felt most acutely by the very working-class families Trump purports to defend.
Equally hollow is the assertion that these tariffs will incentivize foreign firms to relocate production to American soil. Multinational corporations do not shift capital based on political bombast; they respond to long-term cost structures, infrastructure reliability, and market access. Tariffs introduce volatility, not certainty. They create friction, not attraction. No executive board is going to abandon integrated supply chains and established production hubs in Asia or Europe simply because the White House has decided to wage a personal vendetta against global trade.
It is also laughable to suggest that the US can dictate tariff symmetry through so-called “reciprocal” tax rates, which are actually faked as some economists and analysts have pointed out. Playground rules do not govern trade policy. Trump’s vision of reciprocity is, in truth, nothing more than a beggar-thy-neighbor strategy dressed up in populist language. It is grounded in grievance, not governance.
More broadly, the underlying assumption that global trade can be reshaped by executive decrees is a fantasy. Trade is not a static system; it is a living, evolving network of relationships, institutions, and agreements. Its momentum is shaped by structural forces: demographic shifts, technological diffusion, capital mobility, and consumer demand. No single leader can reverse these currents. The idea that a man with a marker and a tariff chart in the Rose Garden can overpower the gravitational pull of global commerce is not just wrong — it is absurd.
The trajectory of global trade will continue to be defined by those who invest in innovation, infrastructure, and integration. China and the European Union are not just participants in this process — they are its primary architects. While the US focuses on tariff skirmishes, these regions are developing the industries, logistics systems, and digital platforms that will define the next era of commerce. They are not waiting. They are building.
Trump’s attempt to weaponize tariffs is not a sign of strength; it is a confession of weakness. It reveals a worldview that shows contempt for economic complexity and global interdependence. However, the facts do not lie: The US is no longer the center of the worldwide trading universe, and no amount of bluster can alter that. These tariffs are not a masterstroke. They are a blunder — calculated perhaps for domestic applause.
The author is a solicitor, a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area lawyer, and a China-appointed attesting officer.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
