The Tariff Battle 🚢

For decades, 'Globalization' (free trade) was the norm. Now, we are seeing a return to 'Protectionism'. A Trade War happens when one country imposes 'Tariffs' (taxes on imports) to protect its own industries, and the other country retaliates.

Usually, this hurts consumers because imported goods become expensive. However, governments use them for strategic reasons: to punish unfair practices (like dumping cheap goods), to protect vital industries (like steel or tech), or for national security.

'Decoupling' is the buzzword—trying to untangle economies so they don't depend on rivals. For example, the West trying to depend less on Chinese manufacturing. This rewires global supply chains.