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With Trump’s tariff bombshell, world trade heads for the law of the jungle

The trade war just escalated, with consequences that will go far beyond trade.

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By executive order, Trump unleashed a wave of so-called reciprocal tariffs, which left no country unscathed.

By executive order, US President Donald Trump unleashed a wave of so-called reciprocal tariffs, which left no country unscathed.

PHOTO: EPA-EFE

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April 2 was

heralded as “Liberation Day” for the US economy

by President Donald Trump. Whether that turns out to be the case remains to be seen. But for the rest of the world, it was “tariff bombshell day” – the biggest salvo so far in the trade war.

By executive order, which is how much of US policy is being made these days, Mr Trump unleashed a wave of so-called reciprocal tariffs, which left no country unscathed.

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