Barsam Mohammadi – Regional Affairs Expert

The Trump administration’s series of trade tariffs has initially affected the US economy, its trading partners, and countries exporting goods to the United States around the world, causing heavy blows to the financial and economic markets of these countries, which, if continued could have serious consequences for the US and the international economy in the political, social, governance, security, and other areas.

The most significant and severe blow from the Trump administration’s trade tariffs has been on the stock markets. Currently, in addition to the US, European and Asian stock markets are also experiencing an unprecedented decline, which has caused huge capital to leave the financial markets and turn it into safe assets such as gold.

Just one week after the new trade tariffs were announced, the S&P 500 has lost an unprecedented $7 trillion. The Russell 2000, which focuses on small-cap companies, had its worst performance in its history at the start of a presidential term. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is also down about 12%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, and more have also suffered steep declines.

The fact that the US stock market has lost $2 trillion in 20 minutes and about $3.5 trillion in a single day is unprecedented in the history of the US stock market.

If the current trend continues, it is expected that prices will increase sharply in the agricultural sector alone, given that 50% of American agricultural goods are imported, which could cause additional pressure on consumers and lead to public protests.

European stock exchanges, including Germany’s DAX, France’s CEX, and London’s FTSE, have faced an enormous shock and have lost a significant percentage of their value.

Meanwhile, in the first days of the reopening of the stock markets, several US partner countries, including Japan, have been closed; the Chinese stock market has experienced its worst decline since the 2008 financial crisis, and the stock markets of some countries, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and … have also faced a sharp decline.

Following the collapse of financial markets, the stocks of technology giants across Asia, including Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi, Apple, Samsung, Japan’s Nintendo, and … have also turned red. In one case alone, the value of the large company Apple has decreased by $300 billion in this short period.

Along with the sharp and widespread decline in stock markets, oil prices have also taken a “downward” trend, with US oil temporarily falling below $60 per barrel, the lowest level in almost four years.

According to reliable international reports, the US President’s imposition of a 25% tariff on all imports could hit the global economy by $1.4 trillion and cause a sharp increase in prices in the US.

These are just a tiny part of the economic consequences of the Trump administration’s trade war, which has become apparent in less than two weeks.

Bill Ackman, an American billionaire and political supporter of Trump, has warned that if Trump’s trade war is not stopped, the US will face a “nuclear economic winter,” which will cause many businesses to close and the unemployment rate to rise sharply. Senator Peters, in protest of the US government’s economic policies, has stated: “Trump is gambling with Americans’ livelihoods, with their retirement savings, and with Americans’ incomes!”

On the other hand, in addition to domestic protests and protest rallies in various US cities, foreign governments have begun to “react” to Trump’s trade war and have taken “retaliation” against the United States, which could certainly lead to international tensions and put the US economy in a difficult situation.

If Trump does not back down from his economic policies and the US partners respond with countermeasures, the US will experience the greatest inflationary damage in recent decades through a more than 50% reduction in exports.

Retaliatory measures by foreign countries, some of which have imposed reciprocal tariffs and, of course, widespread domestic opposition, show how ambitious, unrealistic, and monopolistic trade policies can lead to “weakening multilateral cooperation” and “global instability,” and, as a result, “increasing domestic and international tensions.”

Although the Trump administration is trying to justify the imposition of unprecedented trade tariffs against other countries with hopeful language and a kind of “therapeutic speech” and statements such as “the surgery is over, the patient is alive and recovering, and you have returned the greatness to America…” and introduce it as a prelude to the prosperity of the American economy and the restoration of its former position, what is happening in the real world and on the international political and economic scene is different from what is happening in Trump’s mind.

In conclusion, it seems that the Trump administration’s trade war could have a long-term detrimental effect on the US economy and its trading partners.

A trade war is one of the few that is easy and inexpensive to start but difficult, costly, and time-consuming to continue and end. Trump has claimed that the surgery is over and the economic patient is recovering. But he has not taken into account the fact that there may be “internal bleeding.”

A trade war is one of the few wars that is easy and inexpensive to start but difficult, costly, and time-consuming to continue and end. Trump has claimed that the surgery is over and the economic patient is recovering. But he has failed to consider the fact that “internal bleeding” may cripple the patient during the recovery period.