Trump has built his career on never admitting a mistake or accepting defeat. While he imagined that his "Liberation Day" would be met by cheers in the US – and took pains to stage exactly such a theater in the Rose Garden – the reality has been closer to a stinging rebuke. As these substantial tariffs cascade through the US economy, with an average price hike of 22% on the horizon starting next week, US consumer and business pain will only grow.

This level of systemic shock, on a week in which the United States decisively turned against decades of economic integration in the multilateral trading system that it once led, will lead to new patterns of globalization. Other participants in the system will respond in ways the Trump team likely will not foresee. Global trade is going to be shaken to its foundations for a long time to come.

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In the news: Deborah Elms spoke to various global media on 3 April 2025 on the implications of President Trump's announcement. Check out her interviews with Al Jazeera BBC, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, fDi Intelligence, Fortune, and The Straits Times.