The degeneration of US trade policy into a directionless tariff war must be one of the more extraordinary developments of modern times. The apparent rationale behind it all is the need to return lost manufacturing jobs to the US.

In US President Donald Trump’s view, the globalisation of trade and supply chains over the past few decades has come at great cost to the US. In a yearning to the manufacturing pedigree and capacity of yesteryear, the new administration aims to persuade companies that want to retain access to the lucrative US market to move much of their operations to the country. ..

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