Why Donald Trump's tariff attack on world could be a moment on par with fall of Berlin Wall

Eastern Europe flocked towards the West when the Soviet Union fell. Now Donald Trump is pushing Western democracies forcefully away from the US

Much of the commentary about Donald Trump’s foolish, reckless and unwarranted decision to slap tariffs on the rest of the world has, quite rightly, focussed on its effects on the economy.

Some have even started to speculate about the chances of a full-blown crash, as seen on ‘Black Monday’ in 1987, when the US stock market lost 23 per cent of its value in one day, or even the infamous Wall Street Crash of 1929, when US stock markets lost half their value over three weeks, leading to the Great Depression that blighted the 1930s.

But whether or not the situation becomes quite that serious, it is already clear Trump has committed an act of economic folly that will cost the whole world dear and make the disastrous Budget that ended Liz Truss’s brief stint as Prime Minister seem positively benign. Unfortunately, US Presidents are much harder to remove from office.

Donald Trump's tariffs make Liz Truss's disastrous UK Budget look positively benign (Picture: Andrew Harnik) | Getty Images

However, the effect on global politics could be just as profound. If Trump continues in his current fashion, he may succeed in bringing about a shift in international relations as consequential as the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The demise of the Soviet Union saw many Eastern European countries throw off the yoke of their Kremlin masters and flock to embrace democracy.

Trump’s economic warfare – based on highly spurious claims about ‘effective’ tariffs – is similarly fracturing long-standing alliances. But those countries loosely referred to as ‘the West’ are not fleeing from America, they are being pushed forcefully away. The vast majority want the US to remain the leader of the free world, given its military might, the size of its economy and decades of good relations.

Trump could have chosen to open constructive negotiations about trade. He could have easily won significant concessions from countries like the UK, given the disparity of power.

Instead, after less than three months in office, he chose to begin what could yet become a major global trade war. Long-established bonds of trust – carefully nurtured by US Presidents like John F Kennedy and Ronald Reagan – are being stretched to breaking point.