Donald Trump was forced to pull back from his reckless trade threats on Monday, announcing at the last minute that “he would again postpone imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union.”
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For months, Trump has been trying to “make deals,” but all he’s really been effective at is sending the markets into a tailspin. It’s the latest evidence that Trump’s claim to be a great dealmaker is highly overstated.
More from The Washington Post:
The late announcement — the tariffs would have kicked in at midnight — are the latest unexpected directive in Trump’s four-month effort to upend the U.S.’s trade relationship with more than a dozen countries. Some countries have received preferential treatment by agreeing to early changes, such as South Korea. Others, such as Japan, have been rebuffed despite repeated overtures from their leaders.
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The metals negotiations have been a key test of Trump’s trade strategy and diplomacy, pitting his highly personal bargaining style against the determination of major U.S. trade partners and allies to hold fast and retaliate if necessary under World Trade Organization rules.
Trump has shown a willingness to both befriend and berate almost every ally and adversary, a dynamic that has played out in the past two months as he has tried to lure many of them into making concessions in exchange for delaying tariffs.
Trump did, indeed, delay the tariffs, but he wasn’t able to get the concessions he has spent months trying to get. The rest of the world seemed unfazed by the president’s reckless bargaining style.
Trump talks a big game but doesn’t deliver
As PoliticusUSA’s Sarah Jones pointed after the news broke, this is just the latest demonstration of Trump’s not-so-great negotiating skills:
Breaking news, President Trump isn’t a great negotiator after all.
“U.S. has decided to postpone deadline on steel and aluminum tariffs to June 1 for EU, Canada and Mexico – source familiar with decision,” per Reuters
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) May 1, 2018
Once again, Trump makes a reckless threat, causes a stir and hopes it’s effective at changing policy on a substantive level. It never does.
It’s possible the same stunt is unfolding with respect to North Korea, as the president has blustered his way toward a potential meeting with Kim Jong-Un, unconcerned that he’s probably being played.
If Trump can’t negotiate a trade deal with U.S. allies, the odds that he’ll be able to craft a denuclearization agreement with North Korea are probably pretty darn low.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
