US Holding New World Tight

US Holding New World Tight

Deepak Razdan

Tuesday, 13 May, 2025       

The New World that the United States created with its tariffs remains under its full control. It is the US which decides when it’s time for war and when for peace.

The tariffs war was unthought of even by the world’s greatest economists. Could import taxes be a means of war, none could imagine. Such taxes were considered routine and each country believed it was a personal affair.

US President Donald Trump was inventing a new weapon. He expressed himself through tariffs. The US was being robbed of its wealth in world trade. Only tariffs could make America Great again.

He announced a new tariff line. In 24 hours the world had transformed into a New World. None could figure out how to come out of this puzzle. Mr Trump knew what he was doing.

As the creator of the New World, Trump was at the centre of the New World and held it tight, quite unlike the early twentieth century English poet, who bemoaned things are falling apart; the centre cannot not hold.

Mr Trump decided the war and he has decided the peace also. He said his tariffs had made the right impact and it was time to relax. He could not suppress his eagerness to restore sanity.

Preparing the ground for US-China talks in Geneva on 12th May, he said 80 per cent tariff would be right for Chinese goods, announcing his climb-down from the 145 per cent tariff for China.

In control of the talks, Trump announced a 90-day pause in reciprocal tariffs, and let US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng settle a preliminary deal for 10 per cent tariff on US exports to China and 30 per cent tariff on Chinese exports to the US.

The controller of the New World decided Chinese goods would be imposed 20 per cent higher tariff to pay for past Chinese negligence in letting poisonous fentanyl sources enter US territories, spoiling health of the youth.

A US-China Joint Statement after the Geneva talks asked the two parties to establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations.

In a Fact Sheet, the White House said on the heels of the brand-new deal with the United Kingdom, President Trump reached an agreement with China to reduce China’s tariffs and eliminate retaliation.

The US goods trade deficit with China was $295.4 billion in 2024 -- the largest with any trading partner. This trade deal is a win for the United States, demonstrating President Trump’s unparalleled expertise in securing deals that benefit the American people, the White House said.

In perhaps another deal he could initiate, the US President may be joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting at Istambul in Turkey, on Thursday, to end the Ukraine war.

Zelenskyy and European leaders including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron wanted Putin to accept a 30-day ceasefire from Monday or face worse sanctions.

Putin however suggested direct talks which was immediately supported by New World leader Trump, although it was not clear whether direct talks meant Putin would join the Turkey talks himself.

Trump has been keen that the Ukraine war should end at the earliest, as it was taking lives of thousands of young soldiers every week. The US President has expressed his anger with Zelenskyy and frustration over Putin’s response to end the war.

But Mr Trump remains the leader of the New World. And he continues to inspire his allies in many ways. UK’s Prime Minister Starmer appears to agree with Mr Trump’s demand for quality immigrants only.

Mr Starmer wants net immigration to fall in the UK. Unless there are tougher immigration rules, the UK risks becoming an “island of strangers,” he believes.

The UK Prime Minister released a White Paper outlining plans to reduce foreign students, foreign workers and care workers in the UK.

Mr Starmer has proposed tighter access to skilled workers’ visas. New applicants will need a degree-level qualification, rather than equivalent of A level. Doctors and nurses will continue to get preference.

English language requirements will increase for all, particularly for those who want to settle. The government will scrap a visa scheme, set up by Boris Johnson's government, that allowed firms to hire health and social care workers from overseas.

In India, Mr Starmer’s White Paper may mean harder work for manpower exporters!