Sri Lanka, May 16 -- By Dr Asanka Wijesinghe
The United States' (US) proclamation of "reciprocal tariffs" dealt a blow to the global trade system based on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) principles. With the individualised tariff rates, the US has discarded non-discrimination in the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) tariff structure. The "reciprocal tariff" rate does not show any reciprocity but rather a calculation hypothesised to drive a bilateral trade deficit to zero.
Although the "reciprocal tariff" grabbed attention, US trade policy under the second Trump administration is more complex. Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act of 1962 is being used to target key sectors like steel, aluminium, and auto parts. In addition, investigations...