"Trump's tariff policy is significantly weakening America's soft power." Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University–Higher School of Economics, said in an interview with China Youth Daily that Trump is pushing the world outside the U.S. to become more united with practical actions.

Indeed, Trump's use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on foreign goods is dealing a serious blow to the global and multilateral trade order, which will eventually lead to global stock market shocks, supply chain disruptions and even a full-blown recession. The recent evaporation of trillions of dollars from the U.S. stock market also suggests that the price to be paid by the Trump administration will be much higher than imagined as the U.S.-China confrontation over tariffs escalates.

Domestically, a growing number of U.S. billionaires, business executives and even Trump's allies are coming out against his tariff policies. Elon Musk has repeatedly expressed his displeasure with the new tariff policy. Democrats accused Trump of manipulating the markets, which become a hot topic on social media. Trump was even accused of carrying out the world's largest market manipulation plan. Suslov analyzed that it can be predicted that if Trump's tariff policy is not significantly adjusted, its internal costs will inevitably continue to rise.

(Photo by CFP)

In terms of the U.S. relationship with its allies, Suslov argued that Trump's tariff policy is seriously undermining the loyalty of traditional U.S. allies to the U.S.: "Trump is personally pushing for the development of an international trade system without U.S. participation. In the scenario of high U.S. tariffs on Europe, the EU will try to cooperate more with China, and the prospects for a rebound in Russian-European economic cooperation are promising."

As for Trump's aim in pushing for a tariff war, Suslov believed that Trump wants to use conservative trade policies to stimulate the re-industrialization of the U.S. and prepare for a future confrontation with China. "The Americans know very well that they will not be able to win the confrontation with China without accelerating their own industrial development, and that the U.S. needs to make leaps and bounds in the field of heavy industry, military industry."

With the help of the tariff war, the U.S. also wants to reduce its trade deficit. "The chronic trade deficit has led to a growing U.S. debt, and dealing with it, or at least preventing its further growth, is one of the Trump administration's main priorities." Suslov said.

Can the U.S. really reap the expected benefits from the trade war as it should? The challenges it faces are more prominent at the moment. Trump is pushing the world outside the U.S. to become more united, and new global governance mechanisms, including BRICS cooperation, will be strengthened to a greater extent, and they will play a more important role in regulating the international trade order, Suslov said. (By Zhao Qi and Ma Ziqian/China Youth Daily)