US MAGA trade war: 'Self-inflicted' global economic crisis heralds 'stupid period in human history'

China has raised its tariffs on US goods to 125 percent in a further escalation of a trade war that threatens to bring exports to a halt between the world’s two biggest economies. In a sign of investors’ worries about the health of the US economy under President Trump’s erratic stewardship, the dollar fell to a three-year low against the euro and by 1.3 percent against the yen. Trump sent global financial markets into a tailspin by announcing historic tariffs on America’s trading partners on April 2, including a 10-percent baseline for all goods coming into the United States. After days of plunging markets, on Wednesday he froze the higher tariff rates of 20 percent or more imposed on allies such as the European Union or Japan, but kept an additional rate of 34 percent on China. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24’s William Hilderbrandt welcomes Moshe Lander, Senior Lecturer of Economics at Concordia University.