By: Masood Chaudhary
The United States is once again waging an aggressive tariff war on the world, framing it as a strategy to “protect American workers” and “rebalance trade.” Under the reciprocal tariff policy rolled out in 2025, Washington now imposes a highly fragmented tariff structure on imports from dozens of countries, anywhere from a baseline 10% to as high as 50%, depending on what duties those countries impose on U.S. exports, along with other political or trade considerations. This is not merely an economic strategy; it is the weaponisation of tariffs, turning a once-neutral fiscal tool into a coercive geopolitical instrument. In this transformation, tariffs have been made the villain of global commerce, less about protecting markets and more about disciplining, and in some cases humiliating, nations that do not align with Washington’s preferences.
The current U.S. tariff map reads like a trade war ledger. China faces a 30% rate during a temporary truce period, down from earlier triple-digit peaks, but tensions remain unresolved. India is on a glide path to a punitive 50% tariff, up from 25%, over its purchases of Russian oil. Brazil faces a flat 50% rate tied to U.S. policy concerns. Canada and Mexico see tariffs of 25%, rising to 35% in some sectors, though energy, potash, and USMCA-compliant goods are exempt. Pakistan facing 24% tariff in total. The European Union’s rate stands at 15% after being lowered from 20% during negotiations, while South Korea and Vietnam both face 15–20% after temporary pauses expired. At the harsher end, Laos and Myanmar are hit with 40%, Syria with 41%, Thailand with 36%, and Switzerland with 31% while talks continue. Across the globe, average rates hover in the 25–40% range for countries without trade agreements, with only a handful securing reductions through bilateral deals.
Before Trump’s first trade war in 2018, U.S. tariff levels were among the lowest in the world, averaging just 1.6% on imports, fostering decades of steady integration into the global economy. The Trump years marked a dramatic reversal, with tariff rates on key partners rising sharply and billions in global trade being redirected. While the Biden administration in its early years rolled back some measures, the 2025 revival of an even more aggressive reciprocal tariff policy marks a decisive break from post World War II U.S. trade orthodoxy. The “before and after” numbers are stark: U.S. average applied tariffs are now more than ten times higher than in 2017, and trade-dependent sectors face significant cost pressures. Instead of reshoring production, many supply chains have merely relocated to third countries, bypassing the U.S. market altogether.
Historically, tariffs have delivered rare and selective successes, such as the Tariff of 1816 in the U.S. or South Korea’s strategic protection of nascent industries in the late 20th century, but far more often they have caused economic harm. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930 collapsed global trade by two-thirds, worsening the Great Depression. The 2002 U.S. steel tariffs preserved some jobs in steelmaking but cost tens of thousands more in steel-consuming industries. The Trump–China trade war of 2018–2019 raised consumer prices, hurt U.S. producers, and failed to return manufacturing at scale.
In contrast, openness has proven a consistent driver of prosperity. Post-liberalization growth in BRICS countries since the 1990s, especially China, was directly linked to increased trade, lifting hundreds of millions from poverty. Smaller economies like the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Finland embraced open trade to become highly competitive and wealthy. Globally, falling tariffs after WWII coincided with a dramatic expansion of trade and a historic decline in extreme poverty.
But the 2025 tariff war risks reversing much of that progress. According to international development agencies, higher trade barriers on food, agricultural inputs, and essential commodities are already aggravating global hunger. When tariffs push up prices of fertilizers, grains, and fuel, the ripple effects hit the poorest nations hardest, inflating the cost of basic sustenance. The World Food Programme warns that, if sustained, the current U.S.-driven tariff escalation could add tens of millions to the ranks of the food-insecure by the end of the decade, eroding decades of gains in poverty reduction.
The philosophical flaw in the current U.S. strategy is the belief that economic coercion through tariffs will bend the global order in Washington’s favor without harming its own standing. Yet weaponised tariffs do not simply punish rival governments, they fragment supply chains, alienate allies, and sow uncertainty in markets. Projected results from independent economic models show that while the policy may deliver temporary boosts to select domestic industries, it will slow U.S. GDP growth by 0.5 – 1% annually over the next five years, depress global growth, and accelerate the creation of parallel trading blocs that bypass U.S. influence entirely.
In essence, the U.S. is turning the very mechanism that once fuelled its rise into a blunt instrument of economic confrontation. The transformation of tariffs from a shield for infant industries into a global bludgeon risks undermining both the spirit and the substance of the open trading system America once championed. If history is any guide, such a path rarely ends in victory, it ends in mutual loss, with the poorest and hungriest paying the highest price.
About The Author: Masood Chaudhary is a seasoned journalist with over 20 years of experience covering national and international affairs. He serves as the National Coordinator and Spokesperson of the All Pakistan Journalists Association APJA, advocating for press freedom and journalists’ rights across the Globe. Known for his incisive analysis on global trade, economic policy, and geopolitics, his work combines historical insight with on-the-ground reporting to highlight the human impact of complex economic and political developments.
