Trump's tariffs make the ‘post-American world' a reality
You're reading an excerpt from the WorldView newsletter. Sign up to get the rest, including news from around the globe and interesting ideas and opinions to know, sent to your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
For a generation, analysts and commentators have been discussing the advent of a 'post-American world.' The term, popularized by journalist and broadcaster Fareed Zakaria in a 2008 book, was a warning to the Washington establishment not to be too comfortable with the peerless status of the United States as the world's superpower. China was on the rise, the U.S. share of global wealth and power was growing smaller and the old certainties of the Pax Americana were on the wane.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
U.S., Chinese delegates in London to talk trade, rare earths
June 9 (UPI) -- Delegates from the United States and China are set to meet Monday in London after a phone call between the nations' leaders seemingly led to a cooling of tensions related to their otherwise heated recent trade dispute. "We are a nation that champions free trade and have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody's interests, so we welcome these talks," said a British government spokesperson. The U.K. has provided the space for the countries to chat but hasn't publicly disclosed its location. American attendees are slated to include U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, while Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will lead his country's delegation. It is expected the discussion will put a fair amount of focus on the rare earth minerals situation. The Trump administration had expected China to back down on export restrictions it had imposed in April on such minerals after talks held in May. China imposed those restrictions in response to tariffs levied by Trump on Chinese goods. The resulting trade disruption has led to a 2.9% decrease on exports to the United States from April to May, the decrease from May 2024 is 3.4% and the cumulative year-on-year decrease from January to May is at 4.9%, according to Chinese customs data. However President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on the phone last week, and the conversation was reportedly so friendly it not only led to Monday's meeting but each invited the other to make a personal visit. American and Chinese representatives had met last month in Geneva and reportedly reached an agreement to suspend most of the tariffs that had been reciprocally imposed, but both countries have since been accused of agreement violations by the other.
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NATO chief calls for 400% boost in the alliance's missile defenses
LONDON (AP) — NATO members need to increase their air and missile defenses by 400% to counter the threat from Russia, the head of the military alliance plans to say on Monday. Secretary-General Mark Rutte will say during a visit to London that NATO must take a 'quantum leap in our collective defense' to face growing instability and threats, according to extracts released by NATO before Rutte's speech. Rutte is due to meet U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing St. ahead of a NATO summit in the Netherlands where the 32-nation alliance is likely to commit to a big hike in military spending. Like other NATO members, the U.K. has been reassessing its defense spending since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Starmer has pledged to increase British defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027 and to 3% by 2034. Rutte has proposed a target of 3.5% of economic output on military spending and another 1.5% on 'defense-related expenditure' such as roads, bridges, airfields and sea ports. He said last week he is confident the alliance will agree to the target at its summit in The Hague on June 24-25. At the moment, 22 of the 32 member countries meet or exceed NATO's current 2% target. The new target would meet a demand by U.S. President Donald Trump that member states spend 5% of gross domestic product on defense. Trump has long questioned the value of NATO and complained that the U.S. provides security to European countries that don't contribute enough. Rutte plans to say in a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London that NATO needs thousands more armored vehicles and millions more artillery shells, as well as a 400% increase in air and missile defense. 'We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,' he plans to say. 'Wishful thinking will not keep us safe. We cannot dream away the danger. Hope is not a strategy. So NATO has to become a stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance.' European NATO members, led by the U.K. and France, have scrambled to coordinate their defense posture as Trump transforms American foreign policy, seemingly sidelining Europe as he looks to end the war in Ukraine. Last week the U.K. government said it would build new nuclear-powered attack submarines, prepare its army to fight a war in Europe and become 'a battle-ready, armor-clad nation.' The plans represent the most sweeping changes to British defenses since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago.
Boston Globe
26 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Trump is touting a $3 trillion tariff windfall. Don't bank on it.
(Net tariff revenue, which excludes certain other excise tax revenue and includes tariff rebates or refunds, accounts for 80 to 85 percent of the gross figure.) Over the next decade, the tariffs in place as of May 13 Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up But hold on — tariff math gets complicated. Advertisement Yes, even with the national debt at $36 trillion, $3 trillion isn't a laughing matter. For context, the CBO says the House Republicans' 'big, beautiful' bill Trump quickly seized on the forecasts, asserting that tariffs would more than pay for the tax cuts and new spending — leaving, in his words, a 'tremendous surplus.' But that argument only works if imports stay high and the economy doesn't slow — both unlikely under his own policies. Advertisement Still, expect to hear about that big windfall a lot as the president pushes the bill in the Senate, where even A closer look reveals just how shaky that claim is. Here's a rundown. American businesses and consumers pay Trump's tariffs — not foreign governments. Despite what the president says, US importers shoulder the cost and pass much of it to their customers — other businesses and consumers — in the form of higher prices. Trump's plan trades income-tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the rich for consumption taxes that hit low- and middle-income households harder. Inflation will heat up. The CBO said tariffs would boost inflation — as measured by the personal consumption expenditures index — by an annual average of 0.4 percentage points in 2025 and 2026. The PCE rate was an annualized 2.1 percent in April. The Budget Lab at Yale University Prices for essentials like clothing and shoes are expected to surge. Shoe and apparel prices will spike 31 percent and 28 percent, respectively, in the short term, the Budget Lab said. The economy will slow. Duties will cut gross domestic product by 0.6 percent, or $266 billion, cumulatively through 2035, according to the CBO. The modest reduction is the net of positive effects — such as smaller deficits and more money available for private investments — and negative effects including lower productivity. The Budget Lab forecasts a bigger long-term drag on growth from tariffs: 0.3 percentage point, or $100 billion, each year. Advertisement It sees We can't rely on tariff revenues. Trade flows fluctuate for several reasons, including the pace of economic growth and the level of import duties. Many economists say Trump's erratic trade policies have caused enough uncertainty to trigger a US recession, which would curb spending on imports and drive tariff revenues lower. Moreover, there is a disconnect in Trump's strategy: He argues that tariffs will both raise trillions of dollars and force other countries to negotiate trade deals that are more favorable for the United States. But if he succeeds at the negotiating table, tariff revenue will decline — and the 'tremendous surplus' will shrink. Final thought President Trump doesn't just love tariffs — he touts them as the cure to all of America's economic ills. In his mind, they're a magic wand he can wave to reduce the trade deficit, revive domestic manufacturing, and pay for tax cuts. But magical thinking doesn't work in the real world of global economics. Larry Edelman can be reached at
