{"id":67835,"date":"2025-10-09T13:12:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T13:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/67835\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T13:12:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T13:12:11","slug":"trumps-tariffs-throw-south-asia-under-the-globalization-bus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/67835\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump’s Tariffs Throw South Asia Under The Globalization Bus"},"content":{"rendered":"

(MENAFN<\/a>– Asia Times)
\nThe World Bank’s latest forecast carries a tone of restrained alarm. South Asia – a region that once symbolized post-pandemic economic resilience – may soon find its momentum halted.<\/p>\n

The Bank now projects South Asia’s growth to slow from 6.4% to 5.8% in 2026, attributing the dip primarily to a surge in US tariffs and the cascading effects of Washington’s revived trade nationalism under President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

The numbers tell a story of friction, but the deeper narrative is about power and vulnerability in an age of geopolitical egoism. The very global economy that South Asia helped fuel with low-cost labor and nimble manufacturing is now turning on it.<\/p>\n

The US has imposed sweeping tariffs on South Asia – 50% on most Indian imports, 20% on Bangladeshi goods, and 20% on Sri Lankan exports. The justification is variously to punish nations for trading with Russia or for running persistent surpluses with the US.<\/p>\n

Yet, as with so many blunt instruments in economic diplomacy, these measures hit the innocent harder than the intended targets.<\/p>\n

The US’s protectionist tactics are not the first time the country has tried to take advantage. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 raised tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods in the name of protecting American jobs and punishing unfair traders.<\/p>\n

The result was catastrophic: global trade collapsed by nearly 70% within two years, worsening the Great Depression and fueling political extremism worldwide.<\/p>\n

Today’s economy is more complex and interlinked. Historically, trade barriers rarely have succeeded in achieving their goals; rather, they invited retaliation, distorted supply chains and created uncertainty.<\/p>\n

But Trump’s tariff war is happening at a time when the world is polarized by the Ukraine war, US-China rivalry and growing mistrust in multilateral institutions like the World Trade Organization (WTO).<\/p>\n

India’s balancing act <\/p>\n

Among South Asian economies, India remains the most resilient. The World Bank expects it to retain its title as the world’s fastest-growing major economy – a tribute to its large domestic market, youthful demographics, strong consumption and digital transformation. Yet the shine is fading at the edges.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

MENAFN09102025000159011032ID1110171977<\/p>\n

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