New Delhi: US President Donald Trump has declared “tariff” his absolute favourite word in the English dictionary, hailing it as the key to America’s skyrocketing prosperity amid escalating trade friction.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Arizona to top military generals, Trump exuded confidence that the Supreme Court would not strike down his tariff policies, despite a lower court ruling questioning his executive powers to impose them.
“Tariffs are making us insanely rich,” Trump proclaimed, adding that the US has raked in billions — recently $31 billion alone, enough to fund a fleet of warships. He lambasted decades of foreign nations “ripping us off,” insisting his measures were now forging “fair business” deals.
This comes hot on the heels of his recent White House meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir, after which Trump’s rhetoric has sharpened noticeably.
Fresh announcements include 25-100% duties on branded drugs, kitchen cabinets, upholstered furniture, and heavy trucks, plus a blanket 100% tariff on all foreign-produced films unveiled on Monday. India finds itself among the top targets, slapped with 50% tariffs — half attributed to penalties for purchasing Russian oil, which Trump accused at the UN of funding the Ukraine war alongside China and Brazil.
As legal battles brew and global trade nerves fray, Trump’s unyielding tariff zeal underscores a protectionist pivot, potentially reshaping alliances and economies in its wake. Will the Supreme Court echo his optimism or clip the wings of this economic hawk?
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