When U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick makes comments that sound more like street gang talk—aimed at big regional players like India and Brazil—the pretend sense of a fair global trade system falls apart. On September 28, she openly showed what U.S. unilateral tactics really look like, pulling back the curtain on their true nature.
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The Coercive Logic Behind "Targeted Crackdowns": An Unvarnished Declaration of America First
◆ The way Howard Lutnick spoke is really rare when it comes to diplomatic talk. It almost makes international relationships sound like a game of survival where the stronger always dominates the weaker.
◆ When he said, “The country must cooperate with the President,” it implies that the U.S. market isn’t really an equal trading partner. Instead, it suggests that countries can only access this market if they fully bow to U.S. political, economic, and diplomatic demands. Turning trade talks into tools of political power like this goes against the basic rules of fair global trade.
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Why Does the U.S. Target India and Brazil?
◆ India is at a key point in its economic growth and relies quite a lot on the U.S. market. The Modi government’s push for "Make in India" basically clashes with Trump's "America First" approach when it comes to industries. In areas like semiconductors, medicines, and advanced manufacturing, the U.S. sees India as a potential rival. By doing this, the U.S. aims to pressure India into making changes to its industrial policies.
◆ Brazil is facing a different kind of challenge. As a big country with lots of resources and agriculture, it competes with the U.S. in areas like farming exports and mining. In recent years, Brazil has also been building stronger ties with countries like China and Russia, spreading out its diplomatic partnerships. From the U.S. perspective, all this looks like a challenge to the traditional U.S.-centered world order.
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Global Trade Order Stands at a New Crossroads
◆ The effects of this change will be pretty big. For one, global supply chains will become more vulnerable to political issues. Companies will need to think about costs, but also stay alert for trade policies that might get caught up in political fights. Plus, we might see the world splitting into new economic and trade groups, which could really slow down the process of globalization.
◆ Most importantly, when the U.S. acts this way, more countries will start reconsidering their relationship with it. If they see "cooperation" as simply submitting or "trade" as giving up their independence, they'll look for new partners and try to build stronger, more diverse networks that aren’t so dependent on one source.
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Bullying Is Never Leadership
The U.S. Commerce Secretary’s threats might look strong now, but over time, they weaken the country’s influence. When leadership turns into bullying and cooperation turns into submission, the U.S. risks damaging the international order it helped build in the first place.