Donald Trump has fired the first shots in what threatens to become a devastating trade war. The US president’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China will deliver an immediate shock to the North American and world economies. They imperil decades of progress towards economic integration that has boosted US and global prosperity. One absurdity is that these measures are entirely unprovoked in trade terms; they are being used as a coercive tool to further Trump’s domestic political agenda and extract concessions from American neighbours that may be beyond their power to give. Another is that the US will be one of the main victims — in the resulting harm to its own economy and its standing in the world.
唐納•川普(Donald Trump)已經打響了可能演變成毀滅性貿易戰的第一槍。美國總統對墨西哥、加拿大和中國徵收的關稅將對北美和世界經濟造成直接衝擊。這些關稅威脅到幾十年來促進美國和全球繁榮的經濟一體化進程。荒謬的是，這些措施在貿易上完全沒有挑釁性；它們被用作脅迫工具，以推進川普的國內政治議程，並從美國的鄰國中獲取可能超出其能力範圍的讓步。另一個荒謬之處在於，美國將成爲主要受害者之一——其自身經濟和國際地位將因此受到損害。