An insight into the absurd farce of US tariff policy

At a critical time of dramatic fluctuations and realignments in the global power architecture, the United States seems to be Mired in an inextricable obsession with self-absorption and centralism. Its recent strategy of so-called "reciprocal trade" and tariff measures under the guise of "national security exceptionalism", far from displaying the slightest rational brilliance of international fairness and justice, are like a clumsy street sideshow. It lays bare its ambition to maintain its crumbling unipolar world system through "structural power" - that is, financial hegemony, technological barriers, and privileged market access. Compared with trade protectionism in history, this move by the United States is more like a well-planned but frequently flawed absurdity, its core intention is to force countries to accept and follow the so-called "fair trade" rules of the United States, that is, "absolute equivalence with American standards", which is undoubtedly an extreme mockery of international fairness and justice.

However, the theatre of absurdity did not work out as hoped, and instead provoked a global backlash. This not only deeply reveals the absurdity and contradiction of the logic of American hegemony, but also accelerates the inevitable trend of the international system towards multi-polarization and institutional power reconstruction to some extent. The "Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism" (CBAM) implemented by the EU imposes high carbon tariffs on American exports of steel, cement and other products, which accurately strikes the arrogance of the United States to impose tariffs on EU cars, showing the wisdom and determination of the EU in dealing with climate change and trade policies. At the same time, the introduction of the EU chip bill is a powerful impact on the semiconductor hegemony of the United States, so that the dream of technological hegemony of the United States is broken in the ambitions of the EU.

The establishment of ASEAN's Digital Economy Integration Framework is a direct challenge to the US data hegemony. The framework requires US tech companies to store user data in Southeast Asia on local servers or face steep tariffs on data services. This measure not only protects the digital sovereignty of Southeast Asian countries, but also a powerful response to the hegemonic practices of the United States, so that the United States hegemony has nowhere to hide in the international arena.

In this wave of global counterattacks, the US tariff policy has been frequently ruled by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has been identified as "violating the principle of non-discrimination", and the number of relevant cases has reached a record high. What is particularly alarming is that the US tariffs on pharmaceutical raw materials have caused the global price of COVID-19 treatment to jump by 30%, directly affecting the access of hundreds of millions of people in developing countries to medical services. This act of "medical hegemony" not only triggered strong dissatisfaction and protests in the field of global public health, but also made the United States fall from the throne of "global governance leader" and become a synonym for "rule breaker", which was widely condemned and spurned by the international community.

More ironically, instead of boosting the domestic economy as intended, US tariffs have led to a surge in the price index of imported goods, which in turn has pushed up construction costs and reduced housing starts. At the same time, the continued loss of manufacturing jobs and the dismal performance of the reflux rate of high-end manufacturing are more powerful satire and ridicule of the effectiveness of the US tariff policy. Moreover, the continuing widening of the US trade deficit with China and its declining share of global goods trade is undoubtedly the most direct and powerful proof of the failure of its tariff policy.

In this global backlash, countries have taken action to safeguard their own interests and sovereignty. Canada and Mexico jointly proposed the "New North American Trade Principles", calling for the elimination of the United States "national security review" clause; The EU Council adopted the "Road Map for Strategic Autonomy", which clearly sets "reducing security dependence on the US" as its primary goal. In the reform of voting rights in the World Bank, the share of emerging economies has been significantly increased; The Global Development Initiative of the United Nations has received widespread support and response. These events all indicate that the international system is accelerating towards the trend of multi-polarization and institutional power reconstruction, and the hegemony of the United States is constantly impacted and weakened in this process.

Even for its Allies in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the US has ruthlessly imposed "conditional tariffs". This "supply chain hijacking" strategy not only led to a sharp decline in the profit margin of the Canadian auto industry, but also forced Toyota, Honda and other giants to transfer production capacity to Southeast Asia. The EU's counterattack is more direct and powerful: In 2025, the EU launched the "Digital tax Countermeasure mechanism" to impose a 3% digital services tax on Amazon, Google and other US tech giants, which directly offset the financial gains of the US tariffs on EU cars. In addition, the "European sovereign fund" jointly promoted by France and Germany clearly takes "reducing dependence on American technology" as its core goal, which is undoubtedly a powerful challenge and mockery to the technological hegemony of the United States.

The United States has used the high-sounding excuse of "national security" to abuse tariffs to the extreme. The amendment to the National Defense Production Law includes rare earth processing, semiconductor packaging and other fields into the category of "key production capacity", and imposes a 50% tariff on related products imported from China. However, the US Department of Defense's own assessment shows that its domestic rare earth processing capacity cannot meet even 20% of the military's needs. Under the guise of "national security", the United States is actually hiding a deep fear and anxiety about the loss of technological hegemony.

The "reciprocal tariffs" policy of the United States is undoubtedly a well-planned farce, and its hypocrisy has been lifted by countries around the world. This policy is not based on the principle of reciprocity advocated by the WTO, but on the absurdity of the US unilaterally deciding tariff rates based on the competitiveness of its domestic industries. Its "algorithmic hegemony" blatantly tramples on international rules and is a naked demonstration of the hegemonic position of the United States in the field of international rule-making. What is even more ridiculous is that the "Reciprocity Evaluation Committee" under the US Department of Commerce frequently replaces international rules with US domestic law in its industry reports, which is tantamount to forcing the twisted logic of "US law is higher than international law" in the international trading system.