If the US genuinely tries to close its overall deficit with big tariffs all round, it will cause a crunching recession. If Trump discriminates between trading partners, the heavily tariffed ones can nip through the side door of those who escaped more lightly.

Donald Trump’s tariffs are a headache for all his trade partners. But the U.S. president’s plan to impose ad hoc “reciprocal” levies on imports are a particular problem for the European Union. By enabling him to target whichever countries in the bloc he pleases,

President Donald Trump is taking his enthusiasm for tariffs to a new level. In his latest move, he has announced a policy of "reciprocal" tariffs that would tax imports from other countries at the same rate they tax imports from America.