If we had to choose the symbolic expression of the past week, we would probably have to conclude that Donald Trump's on his strategy concerning duties, truly singular and lacking a coherent logic, surpasses them all: "Everyone calls me to kiss my a...". An expression that would seem to condense, without running the risk of appearing ill-thinking, even the consideration that the Tycoon would seem to have of his own power, almost overlapping, and even conditioning, that of his direct global competitors. This is, therefore, what the hard line of the forty-seventh President of the United States of America would seem to be reduced to. A hard line that all things considered would seem to have a negative impact on his own country, because, to tell the truth, ultimately, the duties imposed by the United States against Third Countries around the world, and the consequent increase in Chinese tariffs in so-called retaliation against American products as a balancing countermeasure, have contributed to determining a significant collapse of the markets.
The consequences on the real economy, inspired by a growing feeling of mistrust, cannot but be felt in all their consistency. Even more so when the frenetic swing of the Tycoon's announcements seems to account for the moodiness, so to speak, of the initiatives being undertaken. And even more so when Donald Trump himself, only a few hours after the entry into force of the mechanism of the so-called reciprocal duties, has unexpectedly suspended them for ninety days. However, the 10% tax on all imports excluding certain products remains in full force, while for cars the 25% duties seem to remain in place.
The point seems to be that for Donald Trump it would seem to be just a suspension of circumstance, almost as if he wanted to induce his competitors to carry on negotiations at a low level in order to obtain some preferential treatment. In this juncture, the elegant and programmatic attitude of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen appears significant, for whom, as she herself announced on social media, "the European Union remains engaged in constructive negotiations with the United States, with the aim of achieving frictionless and mutually beneficial trade", without however neglecting to "focus on the diversification of its trade partnerships, collaborating with countries that represent 87% of global trade and share... (the) commitment to a free and open exchange of goods, services and ideas". To signify, on the one hand, the future intention of not relying completely and monolithically on Donald Trump's United States, on the other hand also the consequent one of seeking other commercial shores by strengthening partnerships so as not to have to depend on Washington, and on the other hand, no less important, that of strengthening the European internal market through the gradual elimination of existing barriers. Therefore, if one wanted to support a reasoning, albeit an incompetent one, with respect to the Tycoon's unprecedented economic policy, one would have to consider that if through the introduction of duties so to speak "upwards", the President himself wants to pursue the intent of bringing the trade balance of the States back to balance, then perhaps, he could have done the proverbial math without the host, given and considering that Xi-Jin-Ping's China does not seem to fear the arm wrestling with Donald Trump, and that the President of the European Commission herself, Ursula von der Leyen, firm in her positions, seems to pursue a muscularly different but no less impactful strategy in the medium to long term.
As noted by several parties, it would seem to emerge clearly that the attitude taken by the new US Administration intends to pursue the objective of having a positive impact on that significant and more conservative part of the electorate that contributed to bringing Donald Trump back to the White House. But such a projection of force, even if it can hold up in the short term, would not seem to be able to represent an element of lasting coherence and effectiveness, and could in fact backfire like a boomerang, leading the historic American power towards paths of political isolation.
Giuseppina Di Salvatore – Lawyer, Nuoro
