Published on, Sept. 2 -- September 2, 2025 2:00 AM

When former U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on imports in 2018, much of the world dismissed them as crude protectionism. Steel and aluminum faced 25% and 10% duties respectively, applied not only to China-the intended rival-but also to longstanding allies such as Japan, India, Canada, and the European Union. India was later stripped of its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status in June 2019, costing $5.6 billion in duty-free exports.

At first glance, the move seemed reckless: why antagonize allies when Washington needed partners to balance Beijing? But an emerging school of thought suggests these "tariff wars" were not haphazard at all. Instead, they may hav...