Tariff Tantrums & Tactical Theft

I've said this before, but it's worth repeating. Donald Trump is back to his old tricks – swinging tariffs at anything that moves. Canadian goods, Mexican lorries, German car parts, Chinese electronics – all in the firing line. It’s draped in flags and wrapped in slogans about protecting the “American worker,” but scratch the surface and you’ll find something altogether grubbier underneath.

Tariffs, we’re told, are a blow for fairness. They’re supposed to rescue failing industries, punish foreign chancers, and bring prosperity flooding back to the heartlands. In reality, they make goods more expensive, provoke retaliation, and saddle everyone else with the consequences. American farmers, for example, have been flattened – again – and manufacturing is reeling from increased costs and disrupted supply lines.

Now, in March 2025, Trump has announced a fresh round of measures. A 25% tariff on imported vehicles. Penalties on Canadian and Mexican goods – this time with a straight face claiming it’s about drugs and border security. And the pièce de résistance: a so-called “reciprocal tariff” system that boils down to “they charge us, so we’ll charge them,” as though trade policy were a pub quiz with buzzers.

But does anyone seriously believe this is about jobs in Detroit, or revitalising American industry?

A more plausible – and frankly simpler – explanation is that tariffs are a tool for making money. Not for the country, mind you, but for a well-placed few. They cause share prices to lurch. Sectors rise or fall on a tweet. And where there’s movement, there’s opportunity – for those in the know.

Go back to 2018. Carl Icahn – long-time associate of Trump – quietly sold off steel shares just before tariffs were announced. Wilbur Ross, then Commerce Secretary, held investments in steel and shipping while “advising” on policy that affected both. Trump himself never even pretended to divest from his business empire. The whole lot’s a tangle of offshore companies, cronies, and donor interests that would make Private Eye blush.

Now it’s happening again. More tariffs, more noise, more market movements. And once again, someone’s making a tidy profit – just not the voters who were promised a renaissance. This isn’t economic policy – it’s a racket with bunting. A bit of populist theatre for the cameras, all the while lining pockets in the shadows. It’s distraction politics: wave the flag with one hand, rake it in with the other.

And let’s not kid ourselves that Trump is ignorant of all this. He may not grasp trade – clearly doesn’t – but he understands grift. He’s not interested in balanced economies or equitable deals. He’s interested in winning, as he defines it – which is to say, coming out personally richer while everyone else clears up the mess. So the next time he starts thumping the lectern about unfair foreign practices, don’t listen to the noise. Watch the money. These tariff tantrums aren’t about economics. They’re about control, optics, and private gain.

And if he were handed the W and the T, do you honestly think he could spell WTO – or would he flog it?