New Delhi, Feb. 10 -- By wielding the threat of imposing across-the-board tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China for no justifiable reason, US President Donald Trump demonstrated that he is a major risk for America and its trade partners. But how other countries respond to Trump's reckless policies will ultimately determine how much damage the global economy will sustain. US trade partners need to keep their cool and resist the temptation to magnify the insanity.

Most analysts seem to believe that responding in kind is the right thing to do. As expected, Canada and Mexico both threatened retaliation and eventually reached deals with Trump to avert the tariffs temporarily.

But it is not clear why retaliation should be regarded as norma...