Maleficent Trade Wars & The Art of Global Chaos

In grammar class, ‘Maleficent’ is what happens when ‘Magnificent’ goes goth. Forget light and glory, this is power dressed in shadows, elegance dipped in venom, and vengeance with high cheekbones. While ‘Magnificent’ throws a parade, ‘Maleficent’ crashes it with a smirk and a dragon. Greatness doesn’t always sparkle; sometimes it broods. And speaking of dark turns , April 2nd’s so-called US ‘Liberation Day’ might make it into the history books, but don’t expect them to mention the embarrassing policy U-turns barely a week later. The Disruptor-in-Chief’s Trade War has now been gently placed on ‘pause’ , for 90 days or forever, depending on the way that he can strike deal as he is still try to impose his way of ‘The Art Of The Deal’ to the rest of the world in a ‘Trumperialistic’ way of course.

First, he said he’d do it—and surprise! He actually did. The 47th President, back in the Oval Office since January 20th, 2025, made good on campaign promises that many dismissed as just bluster. Cue the tariff extravaganza: a 10% blanket tax on all imports, and a jaw-dropping 145% tariff aimed straight at Chinese goods. That’s on top of the usual suspects—steel, aluminium, autos, and anything not hugged tightly by USMCA. The result? One way or the other, Americans corporates and consumers are now paying an extra 25% in tariff taxes, up 23 percentage points in just three months. Economists predict these tariffs might settle around 18%, which sounds almost reasonable until you realize it puts us in Smoot-Hawley territory. You know, that fun little policy move that helped deepen the Great Depression which started with a sovereign debt crisis in Europe.

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