Trump stuns world by willingness to pulverize economies of allies over policy disagreements /demands for territory [View all]

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

Trump threatens country after country with U.S. economic weapons

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Trump’s combative approach — applied to such key trading partners as Canada and Mexico; adversaries such as Russia; and smaller economies such as Colombia and Denmark — reflects his view that the United States is being routinely “ripped off” by most other countries. But the blizzard of demands that don’t always address only trade put him on track for simultaneous confrontations around the globe, which could escalate unpredictably to the detriment of the U.S. and global economies.

On Sunday, his administration announced, then backed off, tariffs and sanctions on Colombia, citing a deal on the deportation of migrants that the South American nation had initially resisted.

Successive U.S. presidents have stepped up their use of economic power over the past several decades. The early days of Trump’s second term, however, are already signaling a new stage of that trend, as the president stunned the world by saying he would be willing to pulverize the economies of even allied countries over seemingly routine policy disagreements — or over sudden demands for their territory.

“This is an aggressive exercise of U.S. economic power in a way we have not seen in a very long time — at least not in the post-World War II era,” said John Creamer, who was a senior diplomat for more than 35 years and was a deputy assistant secretary of state.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/trump-threatens-country-after-country-with-us-economic-weapons/ar-AA1xXPhg

Trump’s use of sanctions also has risks. Senior Treasury officials have been concerned for at least a decade that the overuse of economic sanctions could make the weapon less effective, by encouraging other nations to set up financial networks beyond U.S. detection. Sanctions and tariff threats against U.S. allies will give many countries added incentive to deepen their economic ties with adversaries such as China, leaving them less exposed to Trump’s financial retribution.

“It will accelerate efforts to build workarounds to U.S. sanctions and tariffs. You’re showing that everyone is vulnerable — not just adversaries like China and Russia — but allies like Canada, Mexico and Colombia,”