Donald Trump raised tariffs on Switzerland because he did not like the Swiss president. He lowered them after a Swiss business delegation brought him presents, including a gold bar and a Rolex watch. This is how the president of the United States conducts trade policy, according to Anne Applebaum.
Writing in The Atlantic, Applebaum cataloged the erratic tariff decisions that have alienated every major U.S. ally, "Hvylya" reports. Trump placed tariffs on Europe, the United Kingdom, Japan, and South Korea without warning or regard for the consequences.
He threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Canada if the country dared to negotiate a trade agreement with China. His son Eric Trump was breaking ground on a $1.5 billion golf-course deal in Vietnam while the administration conducted trade negotiations with that country - a conflict of interest that went unaddressed.
The economic damage is real, but the combination of trade punishment and security threats has left Trump isolated in the Gulf. Allied leaders remember every tariff, every insult, every broken commitment. They also know that Trump does not think about how his behavior in one area affects other people's willingness to cooperate in another.
When he triggered the Strait of Hormuz crisis by decisions he cannot explain and then demanded allied help, he found no volunteers. The allies he tariffed, mocked, and threatened had already done their math.
Earlier, "Hvylya" reported on how Gulf states began reassessing U.S. military bases as the Iran war shook trust in Washington.