President Donald Trump’s proposal for a united Western tariff wall against India and China has raised fears of a new “Economic Iron Curtain” descending across the globe. The plan, if joined by the EU, would divide the world into two distinct, competing economic spheres, reminiscent of the geopolitical divisions of the Cold War.
On one side would be the US-EU bloc, using its market access as a tool of containment. On the other would be a Eurasian bloc centered around Russia, China, and potentially India, forced to trade primarily amongst themselves. The proposed 100% tariff would be the wall that separates them.
The explicit goal is to win the current “hot” war in Ukraine by isolating Russia. However, the long-term consequence could be a new, protracted cold war fought not with missiles, but with tariffs, sanctions, and supply chain disruptions.
This dramatic vision of a re-divided world is being pushed by a White House frustrated with its current foreign policy options. But the plan faces major hurdles. The EU must first agree to help build this curtain, and the US Supreme Court must grant the President the legal authority to do so, a decision that is far from certain.