Trump's Arbitrary Trade War Declarations

The point is to lord it over other countries, and it doesn’t matter to him if it hurts American interests.

Paul Poast comments on the president’s arbitrary, unilateral tariff declarations:

But the key word there is “exchange,” meaning both sides agreed to the terms. That was not the case with regard to Trump’s letters, which not only imposed lopsided terms, but did so by simply posting on social media a series of documents that had clearly been copy- pasted with few alterations besides to whom they were addressed and the number in front of the tariff figure. Their unilateral nature seems to go against the very meaning of diplomacy, especially since they were explicitly meant as substitutes for the bilaterally negotiated “deals” Trump and his administration officials have said would be pouring in.

It has been clear going all the way back to the Trump’s first term that he despises the give-and-take of real negotiations. The president is never interested in meaningful diplomacy, because that would require reaching a compromise with the other side and accepting at least some of their terms. He views negotiating partners as enemies to be humiliated, and he doesn’t believe in mutually beneficial agreements of any kind. That leaves him with unilateral declarations of punitive measures as he lashes out at the countries that have displeased him in one way or another. The point is to lord it over other countries, and it doesn’t matter to him if it hurts American interests.