Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, the first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet.
By Chido Nwangwu. Follow on X (Twitter) @Chido247
Sometimes, it seems like President Donald J. Trump believes that the power and influence of the Presidency of the United States make him the president of the dis(united) nations of the world!
Somehow, there is this evident arrogation and attitude of it’s my-way-or-the-highway. But China, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and dozens of other countries continue to show that we all need live in a world where multilateralism and respect for each other are vital to human progress, economic prosperity and diplomatic relations.
On Wednesday, April 9, 2025, President Trump was forced by the growing uncertainties he created and the dangerous, high wire power play, self-inflicted crises and the far-reaching financial consequences of his “executive orders” on tariffs to rethink how far he could go.
Why?
Retaliatory measures were taken against the United States by the affected countries around the world.
Several hours later of that Wednesday, the country-specific tariffs imposed by the world’s most influential and most powerful nation (the United States) on most if not all of its allies and trading partners were “paused”.
Trump changed course, and attitude.
The flamboyant, controversial politician and self-declared savior of the American Republic and its occasionally constipated hyper-power, saw greater reason with the few persons around him and many others that I’ll simply refer to as policy influencers who called for caution and restraint.
Trump’s MAGA-base and millions of Americans were losing billions and trillions of money from his giddy rattling of the global arena of trade and an all out war of tariffs. He decided to halt his tariff hikes for 90 days, except for China. Yes; Communist China!
Trump increased the scale of the battle against China in what has been called since modern diplomatic history as the “games nations play.”
There’s an international relations magnum opus with the same name ‘Games Nations Play: Analyzing International Politics.’ It was published in 1972 by John W. Spanier.
We know that China dominates the United States in the supplies of most goods, commodities, foods, clothing, building materials, services, appliances and one million other items which Americans purchase, almost every 5 minutes — in Walmart, Target or any major retailer!
Consequently, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon cautioned that a U.S. economic recession is “a likely outcome” from Trump’s tariffs. The straight talking banker argued that “When you see a 2000-point decline [in the Dow Jones Industrial Average], it sort of feeds on itself, doesn’t it…. It makes you feel like you’re losing money in your 401(k), you’re losing money in your pension. You’ve got to cut back.”
The United States Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned on April 16, 2025 that President Trump’s tariffs would likely lead to a faster rise in prices and impact the economy negatively. In his words, Powell emphasized that:
“Tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation.”
For speaking his mind, Trump response was predictably, threatening: “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”
On March 28, 2025, I analyzed some of the implications of Trump’s recent decisions.
In USAfrica, it’s titled “Will Trump’s tariffs drive America to a catastrophic strategic blunder?”
https://usafricaonline.com/2025/03/07/usafrica-will-trumps-tariffs-drive-america-to-a-catastrophic-strategic-blunder-by-chido-nwangwu/
Also, in ThisDay (Lagos), it’s titled
“Trump Politics, Tariffs and Trade Wars”
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2025/03/28/trump-politics-tariffs-and-trade-wars-3
I think it’s realistic and useful for Trump to slow down the conflict with China, for 90 days, at this time.
90 days will soon be here. The Chinese are not playing and not backing down.
Meanwhile, the prices of “essential commodities” are increasing.
The financial markets, technology, companies and production facilities are concerned and under uncertainties and pressure.
Anyway, it seems like we’re going to have a Trump Christmas or something like it.
•Dr. Chido Nwangwu, author of the forthcoming book, MLK, Mandela & Achebe: Power, Leadership and Identity., is the Founder of the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline.com, and established USAfrica in 1992 in Houston. He has appeared as an analyst on CNN, ALJazeera, SKYnews, and served as an adviser on Africa business to Houston’s former Mayor Lee Brown. Follow on X (Twitter) @Chido247
