What vision is Trump pursuing?
Donald Trump presented his latest tariff hikes as part of a larger plan to boost the US economy and make America prosperous again. Europe's press attempts to uncover an ideological framework behind all this and gets mired in the contradictions.
Iron will, unclear goal
Nothing makes any sense, writes a discombobulated Expressen:
“The MAGA dream is that only US products get sold. Yet the more self-sufficient the US becomes, the less customs revenue it will generate - but it is exactly this, Trump says, that will now make the country incredibly rich. At the time of writing, stock markets continue to fall. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says there's no need to worry - it's just a natural adjustment to the new reality. Okay. But what reality? Where is the US heading? Does Donald J. Trump even know? With his iron will the president is striding ahead, with no clear goal in sight.”
The maths doesn't add up
Javier Pérez Royo, a constitutional lawyer, takes a closer look at Trump's strategy in eldiario.es:
“Everything I've read on the subject suggests that this nonsense is being spread by a person with very severe cognitive deficits. But we're talking about the president of the United States here. ... Donald Trump's words send the message that it is possible to replace income tax with tariffs. This is the fantasy the US president has in his head. ... In 2023, the US collected 2.96 trillion dollars in taxes and imported goods worth 3.3 trillion. That means it would have to levy a tariff of almost 100 percent on all foreign goods. Just ludicrous.”
Tariffs are anti-oligarchic
La Stampa is eager to make one thing clear:
“Tariffs may be inefficient, but they do have an ethical dimension. Cheap imports may lower the cost of living, but they also convey the message that certain jobs and communities have little value. ... Seen like this, tariffs restore value to those who have been devalued. ... This vision, which in some ways should also be a left-wing one, is today being exploited by the US right. Trump's tariffs will have a catastrophic impact because they are too high and they will be accompanied by the usual mix of deregulation and tax cuts for the rich. ... But they also fulfill a widespread need. The US Democrats are wrong when they fulminate against 'oligarchs'. The economic elites are against tariffs. For Trump and his people, they serve an ideological, rather than oligarchic interest.”
Banal despotism
Compared to Trump, Putin at least feels rooted in ideology, scoffs political scientist Abbas Gallyamov on Facebook:
“Putin at least attempts to justify his imperial plans. He has written articles and given several big interviews. ... Trump makes zero effort in this respect. He and his team have been terrorising Greenland for two months and what have they drummed up in this time, apart from the vague idea that 'We need this island for security reasons'? ... Well, that's what Trump's like, but why are no other members of his team making an effort to substantiate his claims? ... Trump comes off looking less like a Putin-style imperialist and more like a banal despot.”