New Delhi, April 11 -- It's rare for choppy seas to make people on dry land giddy, but when earthly trade is subject to unearthly forces that originate from a mercurial White House, anything can happen.

On 9 April, US President Donald Trump's 'reciprocal tariffs' had just kicked in hours earlier when he backed down. He announced a 90-day pause-with only his 10% baseline tariff to apply-of that harsh policy aimed at trade partners that run a goods surplus with the US; all barring China, that is, on which he hiked that barrier as part of an escalatory bilateral tariff war.

So, what made Trump blink? Or did he? His post online implied it was part of a plan. While Beijing had opted to fight back, others had sought relief talks. Or so he rea...