On Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs and the end of globalisation.

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Contributing editor Lee Jones talks to Alex about the tariffs, as they try to reconstruct the Trump admin's thinking, and consider avenues and consequences.

Why is this a retro-80s moment, and how much does China take the role that Japan used to in Trump's thinking?

How much strategy is there to this? Is it possible to disentangle the competing logics?

Is this a return to the 19th century: small state, no income tax, high tariff walls?

How credible an attempt at reindustrialising the US is this?

Is Trump trying to weaken the dollar? What store to put in the Mar-a-Lago accord?

Do Europeans kick the can down the road and hope for the best?

Is this a global restructuring or just a reset in terms more favourable to the US? The end of neoliberalism or a new iteration on it?

Links:

Will anybody buy a ‘Mar-a-Lago accord’?, FT

A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System, Stephen Miran, Hudson Bay Capital 

Is Trump 2 the End of ‘Neoliberal Order Breakdown Syndrome’?, Lee Jones, TNS 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Breaks Down Trump's Tariff Plan and Its Impact on the Middle Class, Tucker Carlson, YouTube

Back to the ’80s?, Andrew Liu, n+1

MAGA and the Fragmentation of Europe, Tim Pendry, Substack