Kicking away the ladder

THE ‘Liberation Day’ import tariffs announced by President Donald Trump on April 2 mark a tectonic shift in the global economic as well as geopolitical order. The ‘Trump tariffs’ are far more than just about re-balancing trade or an effort to contain a geopolitical rival. It is the manifestation of a nativist, anti-globalisation and thinly veiled xenophobic mindset that is unlikely to roll back despite the interim pause and exemptions, or the long-term costs. Most of the commentary in Pakistan has been narrowly focused on the potential first-order effects on the country’s exports, ignoring the wider dynamic unleashed by the inward pivot by the US. (Even on trade, the partial-equilibrium analysis so far has ignored the second- and third-order effects that are likely to be set in motion despite the temporary pause in tariffs for non-retaliating countries.)