On April 2, Donald Trump dubs the day “Liberation Day,” asserting that the United States is liberating itself from the chains of unfair trade through the imposition of global tariffs. We assess the validity of the US president’s stance, questioning the extent to which this declaration is merely a theatrical display intended to resonate in constituencies that have witnessed the disappearance of manufacturing jobs. How much of it is genuine grievance? Has the world’s foremost superpower merely grown weary of its role as the guarantor of global free trade? Why, after all, would one challenge the rules of globalization if they already hold supremacy in global technology and financial services? In the immediate future, the United States is capable of inflicting immense suffering. After all, it controls the world’s preeminent currency, the all-powerful US dollar. But is that trust irrevocably lost, even if this is all part of Trump’s negotiating strategy and he ultimately rescinds these tariffs?

Source: https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/the-debate/20250403-it-s-strictly-business-trump-s-tariffs-the-erosion-of-trust-in-the-united-states