The Tyrant's Trade War

Trump’s use of tariffs is purely punitive and arbitrary.

The president threatens to escalate his pointless trade war again:

President Trump on Friday threatened on social media that he may impose a steep 50% tariff on imports from the European Union starting June 1 because of a lack of progress in talks about trade issues.

The latest threat is a good reminder that Trump’s use of tariffs is purely punitive and arbitrary. He is not pursuing a discernible, realistic goal. He is simply lashing out at other countries that he imagines have wronged us terribly by selling us things we want. There is nothing that our trading partners can concede that would satisfy him. There isn’t likely to be progress in trade talks because Trump is unappeasable.