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Trump’s vaunted use of tariffs to make America great again has been used in such an impulsive and scattershot way that they are not part of any strategic plan. As Lori Wallach of Global Trade Watch puts it, Trump likes to use tariffs because he thinks of himself as Zeus hurling thunderbolts.
On Monday, Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, at a high-level meeting in Brussels, hurled a quickie thunderbolt at our friends in the EU. He told the Europeans that there would be no relief from Trump’s 50 percent tariffs on European steel and aluminum exports until Europe repealed its pro-consumer privacy rules on tech platforms. “The idea is if they take the foot off this regulatory framework and make it more inviting for our companies, they can get the benefit of hundreds of billions, possibly $1 trillion of investment,” Lutnick said.
Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s tech chief, quickly pushed back, saying that Europe’s digital rules are not part of the EU-U.S. trade talks and will be “strongly” enforced. “I have been very clear since the very beginning: our digital legislation is not up for negotiation,” she said.
The Trump administration, instead of protecting the consumer interest of not being spied on by digital surveillance capitalism, is more concerned to protect digital monopolies. So Europe gets punished, while China and Russia get a free ride.
Meanwhile, back on the Ukraine front, the latest outrage is a leaked transcript in which Trump’s lead negotiator, Steve Witkoff, coached the Russians on how to play Trump for a fool. Republicans have been appalled. “These ridiculous side shows and secret meetings need to stop,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) said on X. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said that Witkoff “acts like he’s on Russia’s payroll.” But it’s Trump who acts like he's on Putin’s payroll.
Putin and Xi have one other thing in common, besides being dictators and playing Trump for the fool that he is. Both think strategically and act accordingly. Trump acts ignorantly and impulsively. To the extent that he thinks strategically all, Trump’s strategy is all about what grift he can grab for himself and his family from foreign policy deals. Selling out his country and its allies is secondary.
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