Business Strategist: May 2025

Friday, 9 May 2025

How to bust Trump tariff war?

Method in madness is the business strategy that drove Trump to engage in this latest round of tariff war. This is not the first time he got entangled though. In 2018 he experimented and gave up it half way. Now, he has decided to go full swing. How to bust his tariff war?

US–China tariff war began in the first administration of Trump Presidency, 2018 to be precise, when a penalty of sort was imposed over China to the tune of USD 350 Billion. China was not too strong enough at that time and responded with a watered down counter punch of USD 100 Billion. This time around it was a blanket tariff imposed upon the globe with special focus on Chinese manufacture. Here are quite a forceful methods to respond to Trump tariff imbroglio!

1. Out-beat Trump in his bravado! Mirroring the rate of the opponent in his escalation of tariff war should be put in place as primary response along with imposing restrictions over export of critical elements to US. China did both!

2. Get Trump to blink first! China succeeded in this mode marvellously as Trump called for a dialogue first. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chief Trade Negotiator Jamieson Greer will meet He Lifeng, First Premier of PRC in Geneva this weekend.

3. Upping the ante when necessary and holding retaliation at the chosen phase at the right time during the tariff war is considered as best retaliation in business strategy.

4. Splitting the allies of Trump is a thoughtful move by China. Both Japan and South Korea were on the same page with China as regards to the senseless tariff bloodletting caused by Trump.

5. Move away from exporting to USA and find new partners in Asia, Africa, and LATAM and even in the Western Europe. Export more to this region and import less from America.

6. Make every effort to increase aggregate demand in the domestic market and the region where the country is located. China has already done this and export to North-East and South-East Asia has gone up significantly in the wake of Trump tariff war.

7. Reduce dependency of US as a primary export destination. China has already done this as her number one trading partner today is ASEAN and not America.

8. Re-configure, supply chain along with value chain by altering production methods, commercial relationship, overhead absorption such that the end product is affordable to a wider segment of the global market. BRI project is indeed the geoeconomics thrust by China which most countries failed to appreciate at the beginning.

9. Navigating business strategy amid geoeconomics compulsion is the art of the deal where Trump in person and his Tariff War as an instrument can be busted. Let us witness it in the coming days!

Cheers!

Muthu Ashraff Rajulu

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog: Business Strategist

Wednesday, 7 May 2025

What Trump can do and what he cannot?

Here are Ten items in business strategy & geoeconomics where President Donald Trump is engaged. Let us find out the items that he can do and what items he just can’t do:

1. Force the hand of Germany to shift almost all its manufacturing including plants, machinery, equipment, knowhow, labour & management to locations in USA. Result: Yes, he can!

2. Use of blanket tariff over the entire globe as a geoeconomics tool to bring US dominium out in the open and all of them are so terrified that they cow down to the new Emperor of the Globe. Result: No, he can’t!

3. Reform US treasury issues that are mostly with short term duration to medium term treasuries at the beginning and long term bonds in the future. Result: Yes, he can!

4. Devalue the US Dollar to ease out economic problems faced by America whereby making exports cheaper and imports dearer with an ultimate goal of resurgence in both domestic economy and in outside the wider world of geoeconomics. Result: No, he can’t!

5. Reduce participation in NATO in terms of reduce funding as well as withdrawing US forces located in the Western Europe especially in countries such as Germany, Poland and Rumania. Result: Yes, he can!

6. Reform the entire spectrum of sanctions policy in order to make it effective upon the intended enemies and eliminate spill-over effects that affect US allies. Result: No, he can’t!

7. Drain the swamp. By this Trump means is to remove all the obstacles that he is faced with and which are being sponsored by his nemesis the Democratic Party. Result: Yes, he can!

8. Manipulating Wall Street and Main Street for him to control financial market as well as the real market of businesses, manufacturers, service providers and concerned consumers and the public at large. Result: No, he can’t.

9. Make America Great Again. Trump has a vision & mission as regards to curtailing the slow and study decline of US economy in the domestic scene. Result: Yes, he can!

10. As a mainstay of his business strategy Trump wishes to preserve the unipolar world where America decides the rules and the rest of the world, that is allies and enemies kowtow in submission. Trump does not like to be disappointed though. The truth of the matter is multipolar world has already emerged and the majority nations in the globe are for it. Result: No, he can’t!