Commentary: On Broadcom and tariffs, Trump takes aim on trade – and Singapore?

SINGAPORE: Donald Trump has just entered the second year of his presidency, and it is already clear that in the year to come he will present even more of a challenge to the rules-based international trading order than in his first year. This year began with a series of Trump trade bangs. In January, the Trump administration declared tariffs against washing machines and also solar panels – from which Singapore was not excluded. In the past two weeks, the president invoked a little-used national security exception to justify 25 per cent tariffs on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum imports. And just last week, he used his review authority under the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to personally and publicly block Singapore-incorporated Broadcom from buying Qualcomm – again on the grounds of national security. Singaporeans may have reason to ask: "Why is this happening? And what will come next?" UPENDING THE POST-WAR INTERNATIONAL CONSENSUS Let me offer two lessons from Washington. The first is that Mr. Trump is deadly serious about upending the post-war international consensus in favour of free trade and will not be "normalised." The second is that rules themselves are anathema to… Read full this story

Commentary: On Broadcom and tariffs, Trump takes aim on trade – and Singapore? have 289 words, post on www.channelnewsasia.com at March 17, 2018. This is cached page on Vietnam Dance. If you want remove this page, please contact us.