On April 2, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that moving forward, the country would apply tariffs of at least 10% on almost all of its trade partners in an attempt to encourage companies to move their production to the U.S. He encouraged countries to negotiate deals with the U.S. in an attempt to lower any potentially high future tariffs. Since then, some of our trading partners have been subject to significantly high tariff rates. As of August, India has been hit with a 50% tariff on U.S. goods due to claims that the country is aiding Putin in his war of aggression against Ukraine due to its purchasing of Russian oil. Similarly, Brazil also faces tariffs of 50% in response to Trump’s political motives, as he sees Brazil’s prosecution of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as an unjust “witch hunt.” Other long-term U.S. trade partners, such as Japan and the E.U., have faced lesser tariff rates of 10% on most goods, and while lesser than the amounts put on other countries, it is still an increase in tension in comparison to earlier, more amicable relations between these partners.

In response to increased U.S. taxes on trade, some countries have begun to opt for China as their preferred partner of choice when it comes to trade relations. Despite the disarray of China-India relations over the past decade, due to Trump’s tariffs, India has moved closer to China to delay any perceived economic impacts such tariffs have on India. According to India’s former chief economic adviser Kausik Basu, India needs to “cultivate economic and diplomatic ties with countries like Mexico, Canada, and China. This also means strengthening trade and cooperation with other governments concerned about the impact of Trump’s tariffs, particularly in Europe and Latin America.” It is widely apparent that other countries are bracing themselves and banding together in response to Trump’s tariffs. In a related fashion, Brazil is looking to diversify its trade with China. One of Brazil’s biggest exports to the U.S. is coffee, and now that the U.S. market looks less attractive to Brazilian exporters, China has become a beacon of hope in these rocky economic times. A coffee bean trader claimed that instead of weakening Brazil as the tariffs may have originally been intended, “it is pushing sellers closer to China.”

Despite Trump’s hopes that his tariffs would encourage businesses to move to U.S. soil and set up production, his retaliatory tariffs have instead encouraged countries to move away from U.S. business, not towards it. As trade with the U.S. has become increasingly unstable and expensive, countries are looking for a more stable economic partner. China is all too familiar with aggressive trade tactics because it has utilized such tactics itself with its own trade partners in attempts to get what it wants, and additionally has been in the midst of a trade war with the U.S. for years now. Considering China’s familiarity, China realizes that now is a crucial moment to take advantage of countries struggling with U.S. trade and offers these countries new trade opportunities with open arms. With some of the world’s biggest economies, India and Brazil, now looking to China as a replacement for U.S. trade, Trump’s tariffs are proving to hurt the U.S. way more than helping it.

Another crucial point to consider in criticizing Trump’s tariffs is the burgeoning axis of countries in opposition to the U.S. hegemony that are being pushed closer together due to the tariffs. Over this past week, Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and Russian President Vladimir Putin all appeared to be in amicable spirits during one of China’s most extravagant military parades in recent years. China seems to want to make its strength and war power clear, as Trump has created an even more tense international atmosphere. Such amicable relations were similarly seen during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Security Summit between India’s President Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping. This newfound closeness between the two leaders appears to be India’s reaction to U.S. tariffs as it seeks out more stable economic partners. While U.S. relations with some of its trade partners deteriorate, China’s relations with its partners are blossoming. China’s close ties to countries like Russia and North Korea create a worrying trend of authoritarian powers that do not respect international law being pushed closer and closer together. While Trump’s recent decisions in the international realm are not all to blame for this closeness, the effects of his tariffs on the growing relationships between these states cannot be ignored.

Trump’s current strategy on the international stage is reckless to say the least. His efforts to supposedly boost American production have instead caused countries to begin to seek out China as a new potential replacement for U.S. trade. This move has, in effect, caused countries to begin to form alliances outside of the U.S. sphere of influence instead of working with it on its strict terms. Coercive economic measures may work for some short-term goals, but in the long term, they often influence countries to seek out less aggressive and untrustworthy partners. If Trump wanted to fix any trade deficits that the U.S. had with countries, threatening high tariffs is not the way that the country should seek to solve such problems. While trade negotiations and deals take time, they are a better path to take than one of forceful economic measures. Trump appears to be someone who believes that the quicker something gets done, the better, but this is not always true. Sometimes the best solutions to a problem are one that takes time and effort, not force and coercion. When international actors behave forcefully, those being forced one way or another often act out in retaliation, moving away from such behavior at whatever means necessary.