The Guardian view on Trump’s tariff push: it should spark a global call for fairer trade | Editorial

US protectionism raises alarms, underscoring the need for balanced policies as wealthy nations' tariffs can hurt developing economies

To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff," Donald Trump told business leaders in October. It's my favourite word. It needs a public relations firm." Now, with his election victory, Mr Trump's wordssend a shiver through global capitals. Many fear he may pull a curtain across the US economy, locking them out of the world's largest market and cutting off access to US technology. These fears are amplified by last year's contraction in merchandise trade - which was the first such shrinkage at a time when the global economy was growing.

However, it's wise to take Mr Trump seriously, not literally. During his last term, he imposed tariffs on more than $400bn in US-China trade and renegotiated the North American free trade agreement (Nafta) in a push to reshore blue-collar jobs. In many ways, JoeBiden continued - and even accelerated - these trends. Mr Trump averaged 144,000 reshored jobs a year; in 2022, Mr Biden reached 364,000.