US tariff policy misses all its targets

Trump's tariff threats causing market turmoil, followed by some appeasement, then the announcement of a deal... the TACO cycle is getting shorter and shorter. In 2025, it took months to de-escalate the situation. This week, it took only a few days to announce and then withdraw the "Greenland tariffs" on several European countries. For the past year, Trump has been wielding the tariff weapon at every opportunity. We now have enough hindsight to appreciate what is real and what is imaginary. In short, it is a heavy tax on Americans rather than the rest of the world, moderately inflationary. It has not reduced the trade deficit, the budget deficit or triggered a wave of re-industrialisation.