Chanticleer

Market panic may be the best protection against Trump’s tariff war

Investors were sure the “Art of the Deal” schtick would mean import duties would be avoided. Now they face a world of “uncontrollable chaos” in which the normal guardrails are failing.

Feb 3, 2025 – 11.41am

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Macquarie strategist Viktor Shvets has been a voice of reason for those fearing the return of Donald Trump could plunge the global economic and financial markets into chaos. His argument? A series of guardrails – from Congress to the US legal system, to bilateral trade agreements – would prevent the worst from happening.

But after the US president followed through on his threat to whack Canada and Mexico with a 25 per cent tariff, and a 10 per cent tariff on China, Shvets is being forced into a rapid rethink, just a few weeks into Trump’s second presidency.

James Thomson is senior Chanticleer columnist based in Melbourne. He was the Companies editor and editor of BRW Magazine.