COLUMN: Trump vs. Free Trade—When Protectionism Becomes a Weapon of Mass Economic Destruction

Two Neighbors Under Pressure

Mexico and Canada, linked to the United States by the USMCA (the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement), are on the front lines. To avoid tariffs, Mexico has stepped up extraditions of cartel leaders and strengthened border cooperation—two key demands from Trump. “We continue to negotiate the most favorable terms possible,” said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, whom Trump has described as “wonderful and very intelligent.” Yet behind the smiles, the reality is bitter: Mexico has also raised its tariffs on Chinese goods, bowing to U.S. demands. Canada, for its part, is trying to resist. “We are not seeking a free trade agreement with China, but a resolution on tariff issues,” Minister Dominic LeBlanc clarified. Yet Trump is not backing down. “China is devouring Canada,” he thundered, threatening to double the price of Canadian products. This strategy forces both countries to choose between their economic sovereignty and access to the U.S. market—an impossible choice that risks weakening them permanently.

Take a good look at what’s happening. Trump isn’t negotiating. He’s dictating. He isn’t proposing. He’s imposing. And facing him, his neighbors, allies, and partners have only two options: give in or resist. Give in, and lose their dignity. Resist, and lose access to the U.S. market. That is Trump’s “genius”: he has turned trade into a zero-sum game. Where, for the United States to win, others must lose. But this is an illusion. Because when you weaken your neighbors, you weaken yourself. When you isolate your allies, you isolate yourself. When you replace cooperation with coercion, you end up alone. And a country on its own—even one as powerful as the United States—is a vulnerable country. Because true strength isn’t the ability to threaten. It’s the ability to build. To cooperate. To create lasting alliances. Trump, on the other hand, builds nothing. He destroys. He divides. He weakens. And one day, he will discover that even the tallest walls eventually come crashing down.

The Never-Ending Trade War

For Trump, China embodies all the ills of the U.S. economy. “Economic plunder,” “cheating,” “an existential threat”: the accusations keep coming, and so do the measures. Since 2025, tariffs on Chinese goods have reached record levels, targeting everything from electronic components to agricultural products. The result: global supply chains are disrupted, production costs are skyrocketing, and consumers are footing the bill. “The United States uses arms sales and transfers to strengthen its military and technological dominance,” explains a presidential decree from February 2026. In short: China must yield, or suffer the consequences. Yet Beijing is not sitting idly by. It is retaliating with its own tariffs, seeking new partners, and accelerating its transition to an economy less dependent on the United States. “China is going to devour Canada whole,” Trump warned. But in reality, it is the entire global economy that risks being devoured by this endless war.

Trump has made China his favorite enemy. His scapegoat. His bogeyman. Because it’s easier to point the finger than to solve problems. Easier to cry “cheating” than to modernize his own industry. Easier to impose tariffs than to train his workers. But this strategy, in the long run, is a dead end. Because China isn’t going to disappear. It isn’t going to collapse. It will adapt. It will find ways around the restrictions. It will find new markets, new partners, and new alliances. And in the meantime, the United States? It will isolate itself. It will lose market share. It will see its companies pay more for components, its consumers pay more for products, and its economy slow down. Because protectionism isn’t a weapon. It’s a trap. A trap that snaps shut on those who use it. Because an economy that closes itself off, that threatens, that punishes, always ends up suffocating. And Trump, with his trade war, is suffocating his own.

When Tariffs Drive Prices Sky-High

The first to be affected by Trump’s protectionism are American consumers. Tariffs on steel, aluminum, electronics, and agricultural products are having a direct impact on prices. “Rising costs for households, declining purchasing power, and stubborn inflation,” summarizes Oren Klachkin, an economist at Nationwide. Businesses, for their part, are seeing their margins shrink, their investments slow down, and their projects canceled. “Companies are prioritizing cost control in the face of persistent uncertainty,” notes Gregory Daco, an economist at EY. The result: growth is slowing, employment is contracting, and the risk of recession is growing. Yet Trump stands by his decisions. “A weaker dollar makes exports more competitive,” he explains, as if making imports more expensive were a necessary evil. But for ordinary Americans—those who don’t speculate on the stock market, those who don’t own factories, those who live on their wages—the reality is quite different: it’s rising bills, a tightening budget, and a future that’s looking bleaker.

Trump talks about “protecting American jobs.” But which jobs? Those of factory workers who have to pay more for groceries? Those of small business owners who see their inventory costs rise? Those of families who have to choose between filling their fridge and paying their rent? No. Trump’s protectionism is like a medicine that kills the patient to cure the disease. Because yes, there are problems. Yes, there is inequality. Yes, jobs are disappearing. But the solution isn’t to close the borders. It isn’t to punish consumers. It isn’t to treat every imported product as an enemy. The solution is to invest. In education. In innovation. In infrastructure. In workers. Not in walls. Not in threats. Not in tariffs. Because when we choose fear over boldness, isolation over openness, division over cooperation, we protect nothing. We destroy. We impoverish. We weaken. And that is not protection. It is betrayal.

Why Defending Free Trade Is an Act of Courage

In the face of Trump’s protectionist offensive, defending free trade has become an act of resistance. “Free trade is a win-win situation,” says Pascal Salin, a libertarian economist. “Protectionism, on the other hand, is a lose-lose situation.” ” Yet in the current climate, where fear of globalization and mistrust of elites prevail, this idea has become unpopular. “Trump’s protectionist policies are not a historical anomaly, but a return to fundamental strategies in the building of the United States,” notes Luciana Ghiotto, a researcher at the Transnational Institute. Yet the facts speak for themselves: periods of American prosperity have always coincided with phases of trade liberalization. “The tariffs of the 1930s exacerbated the Great Depression,” recalls Antoine Bouët of the CEPII. Today, as Trump imposes record-high tariffs, the same risks are reemerging: recession, unemployment, instability. Yet, in the face of this evidence, few dare to speak out. Because in the America of 2026, free trade has become a dirty word. A symbol of the establishment. A betrayal.

Defending free trade today is a bit like defending reason in a world that has chosen madness. Because free trade is not an ideology. It is not a dogma. It is a fact. An economic, historical, undeniable fact: when borders open, when trade increases, when ideas flow, everyone wins. Not always in the same way. Not always at the same pace. But overall, yes, everyone wins. Consumers. Businesses. Workers. Countries. Yet Trump has managed to turn it into a bogeyman. A symbol of everything that’s wrong. A conspiracy by the elites. And today, those who dare to say otherwise—that protectionism is not a solution, that tariffs do not create wealth, that cooperation is preferable to confrontation—are branded as traitors. As naive. As enemies of the people. But the opposite is true. They are the only ones who still have the courage to speak the truth. To remind us that prosperity cannot be decreed. That it must be built. That it must be shared. That it must be earned. Not with walls. Not with threats. Not with trade wars. But with dialogue. With trust. With boldness. And that is what is missing most today.

A Multilateral System in Crisis

One of the first victims of Trumpist protectionism is the World Trade Organization (WTO). Since 2025, Trump has systematically blocked the appointment of judges to the Dispute Settlement Body, rendering the institution incapable of resolving trade disputes. “The WTO has been stripped of its meaning,” notes a report by Melchior. As a result, countries are turning to bilateralism, retaliatory measures are multiplying, and the risk of a widespread trade war is growing. “The rise of protectionism is a threat to global economic peace,” warned Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the WTO. Yet Trump couldn’t care less. To him, international rules are nothing but obstacles. “The United States doesn’t need the WTO to impose its terms,” he declared. This stance isolates Washington, weakens smaller countries, and plunges global trade into chaos. Because without rules, without a referee, without a framework, the law of the jungle prevails. And under that law, the losers are always the same: the weakest.

The WTO wasn’t perfect. Far from it. But it was a framework. An attempt to civilize global trade. To say that no, we can’t just do whatever we want. That no, the strongest cannot always crush the weakest. That no, trade disputes are not resolved through threats, but through dialogue. Trump, for his part, chose to destroy all of that. Because for him, rules are for other people. Agreements are for the weak. Cooperation is for the naive. And today, we’re seeing the consequences. A world where everyone does whatever they want. Where retaliation replaces negotiations. Where the law of the strongest becomes the only law. And in that world, who wins? No one. Because when you destroy the rules, you also destroy trust. And without trust, there is no more trade. There is no more growth. There is nothing left but fear. Mistrust. War. And that is not protectionism. It is barbarism.

Between Sovereignty and Submission

Europe faces a difficult choice: resist Trump-style protectionism, or give in to avoid retaliation. Some countries, such as France and Germany, are trying to negotiate exemptions. Others, such as Hungary and Poland, are toying with the idea of adopting their own protectionist measures. “Europe could opt for a compromise by opening its markets in exchange for Chinese investment,” suggests Le Grand Continent. But this strategy is risky. Because if Europe gives in, it loses its credibility. If it resists, it risks devastating tariffs. “At first, resentment toward the United States might prevail. But soon, certain European political forces could emulate the Trumpist model,” warns an analyst. It’s a chilling prospect: a world where everyone closes in on itself, where alliances crumble, and where cooperation becomes a meaningless word. And in that world, the only winners will be those with the most muscle—not those with the brightest ideas.

Europe has a choice to make. A choice that will shape the coming decades. Either it resists. Or it yields. Either it defends its values—openness, cooperation, multilateralism. Or it betrays them, for a little short-term peace. But if it chooses submission, it will lose far more than a market. It will lose its soul. Because Europe isn’t just an economy. It’s an idea. The idea that countries can cooperate. That differences can be a strength. That peace is best built with bridges rather than walls. If it abandons that, if it starts playing Trump’s game, then it will no longer be Europe. It will be just another player in an endless trade war. One player among many. A follower. Not a leader. And that would be a far more serious defeat than all the tariffs in the world.

Lessons Not Learned from History

Trump’s protectionism is nothing new. “The United States developed its economy under intense protectionism in the 19th century,” notes Luciana Ghiotto. Yet the lessons of history are clear: the tariffs of the 1930s exacerbated the Great Depression. The Smoot-Hawley Act plunged the world into a spiral of retaliation. “Protectionism is a lose-lose game,” insists Pascal Salin. Yet Trump persists. Because for him, history is merely a tool—a means of justifying his choices, not a lesson to be learned. “A country’s economic power does not stem from free trade, but from its ability to impose its own rules,” he declares. This view ignores a simple fact: the countries that open up, cooperate, and innovate are the ones that prosper. Those that close themselves off, threaten, and punish are the ones that decline. And today, under Trump, the United States is choosing decline.

History has shown us one thing: protectionism doesn’t work. It has never worked. It has never created wealth. It has never protected anyone. It has only impoverished some, isolated others, and plunged the world into chaos. Yet Trump persists. He persists because, for him, the end justifies the means. It doesn’t matter if consumers pay more. It doesn’t matter if businesses suffer. It doesn’t matter if allies turn away. What matters is showing who’s in charge. Proving that we can impose our will. Winning. But winning what? An economy that’s running out of steam? A country that’s isolating itself? A world that’s falling apart? No. True victory isn’t about crushing others. It’s about lifting them up alongside you. About building together. About sharing prosperity. And that is something Trump will never understand. Because for him, power is everything. The rest is just details. Details that, today, come at a high cost. A very high cost. To America. To the world. To all of us.

Why We Must Stand Up to Trump

In the face of Trump’s aggressive protectionism, defending free trade is not a luxury. It is a necessity. Because free trade is not an ideology. It is a fact. A fact that has lifted millions of people out of poverty. That has enabled unprecedented technological advances. That has created jobs, wealth, and opportunities. Yes, it has also created inequalities. Yes, it has also caused imbalances. But the answer isn’t to tear everything down. It isn’t to turn inward. It isn’t to punish. The answer is to regulate. To invest. To redistribute. To build a fairer, more equitable, and more sustainable trade system. Not to sabotage it. Because when we sabotage free trade, we don’t protect jobs. We destroy them. We don’t strengthen industry. We weaken it. We don’t create wealth. We destroy it. And that isn’t courage. It’s cowardice. The cowardice of those who prefer fear to boldness. Closure to openness. Division to cooperation. So yes, standing up to Trump today is difficult. Yes, it’s risky. Yes, it takes courage. But it’s the only way to avoid the worst. Because if we let it happen, if we stay silent, if we give in, then we will have lost far more than an economic debate. We will have lost what makes the modern world strong: its ability to trade, to cooperate, to grow together. And that would be a historic defeat.

I’m no idealist. I know that free trade has its flaws. Its excesses. Its victims. But I also know one thing: there is no prosperity without trade. No peace without cooperation. No future without openness. Trump, for his part, has chosen the opposite path—the path of fear, of threats, of isolation. And today, the world is on the brink of the abyss. Because when the world’s largest market decides to close itself off, when it uses its power like a sledgehammer, when it replaces dialogue with coercion, then no one is safe anymore. Not even the United States. Because an economy that isolates itself, that threatens, that punishes, always ends up suffocating. And when it suffocates, it drags others down with it. So yes, defending free trade today is a fight. A difficult fight. An unpopular fight. A fight that requires courage. But it’s a fight worth fighting. Because the alternative is chaos. It’s recession. It’s economic war. And nobody wants that. No one deserves that. So yes, we must resist. We must say no. No to fear. No to isolation. No to division. Because otherwise, we will have lost far more than just an economic battle. We will have lost our ability to build a better world. And that would be the worst defeat of all.

Signed, Jacques Provost