{"id":107582,"date":"2025-02-03T17:04:28","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T01:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/02\/03\/having-a-king-may-not-be-best-for-america\/"},"modified":"2025-02-03T17:04:28","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T01:04:28","slug":"having-a-king-may-not-be-best-for-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/02\/03\/having-a-king-may-not-be-best-for-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Having A King May Not Be Best For America"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
(Photo by David Becker\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During his first term as president, Donald Trump was frustrated by the government.<\/p>\n

When Trump wanted to do things \u2014 he was, after all, the president! \u2014 he couldn\u2019t. Congress got in the way. Or the courts got in the way. Or the deep state.<\/p>\n

Trump wanted to be an unencumbered president, but the Constitution restrained him.<\/p>\n

Trump is much smarter now. He\u2019s figured out how to be king.<\/p>\n

Previous presidents typically used tariffs sparingly as a way to regulate trade. Trump has now realized that tariffs are a way to regulate essentially anything \u2014 without the rest of government getting in the way.<\/p>\n

Presidents have broad discretion to dictate tariff rates and the goods and countries to which tariffs should apply.\u00a0 Previous presidents viewed tariffs as a tool of international trade. Trump has thrown off that restraint; he views tariffs as a tool with which to bludgeon any country that won\u2019t do the president\u2019s bidding.<\/p>\n

Given the United States\u2019 economic strength, other countries have essentially no choice but to do as Trump commands.<\/p>\n

Colombia, for example, refused to accept certain American flights transporting immigrants who were being deported.<\/p>\n

What would be a good mechanism to coerce Colombia to do what Trump wanted? Tariffs!<\/p>\n

Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff; Colombia agreed to accept the immigrants.<\/p>\n

Trump thinks Canada and Mexico should do more to police their borders with the United States and should keep fentanyl from entering the country.\u00a0If Canada and Mexico won\u2019t do Trump\u2019s bidding, what\u2019s the answer?<\/p>\n

Tariffs! Congress can\u2019t (or won\u2019t) interfere; the courts can\u2019t interfere; the deep state can\u2019t interfere.<\/p>\n

Canada and Mexico can be bludgeoned into submission by Trump acting unilaterally.<\/p>\n

Trump wants to take the Panama Canal back from Panama.<\/p>\n

If Panama won\u2019t cooperate, what do you suppose the solution might be?<\/p>\n

Tariffs! Instant coercion.<\/p>\n

Trump would like Greenland to become part of the United States.\u00a0If Greenland and Denmark refuse to cooperate, there\u2019s an easy solution:\u00a0Tariffs!\u00a0Coerced by the threat (or reality) of punishing tariffs, it\u2019s remarkable how quickly other countries become cooperative.<\/p>\n

Why should Trump stop there?<\/p>\n

Suppose Trump would like other countries to buy more American goods. If the countries refuse, threaten tariffs! They\u2019ll cooperate.<\/p>\n

Suppose the United States would like to station troops on another country\u2019s land. If the country refuses, threaten tariffs! Instant cooperation.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure that even Trump would have the nerve to do this, but suppose a country wouldn\u2019t allow Trump to develop a hotel that he wanted to build. How could that country be coerced into cooperating?<\/p>\n

Tariffs! Why not? This would look (and smell) pretty bad, but it would surely do the trick.<\/p>\n

Tariffs are the solution to everything.<\/p>\n

This is, of course, a dangerous game to play.<\/p>\n

First, this is guaranteed to hurt American exports. Any country will now have to be insane to trade with the United States in a way that makes the country dependent on American goodwill. The world now knows that the United States will take advantage of its trade position to coerce other countries to do its bidding. The lesson is clear: Don\u2019t rely on the U.S.; diversify your trading partners.<\/p>\n

Second, countries, like individuals, do not take kindly to being bullied. A 98-pound weakling will accept bullying when there\u2019s no choice, but the victim may ultimately stand up to the bully.<\/p>\n

Countries can, for example, act collectively. Perhaps Colombia, by itself, can\u2019t stand up to the United States, but Latin America as a whole has more power.\u00a0The region could collectively impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States.\u00a0The United States would feel that pain.<\/p>\n

So, too, for Europe.\u00a0The United States may be able to bludgeon Denmark alone, but the calculus would be different if all of Europe chose to retaliate against Trump\u2019s bullying.<\/p>\n

Or, if collective action is not possible (or desirable), countries could change their trading partners to do business with countries that the United States fears (or is currently trying to punish).\u00a0Colombia now trades with the United States.\u00a0But if the United States is a bully, then China would surely be delighted to trade with Colombia on more reasonable terms.<\/p>\n

Bullying folks might work in the short term, but it\u2019s unlikely to work in the long term.<\/p>\n

Now that Trump has figured out how to be king, he will surely throw his weight around.\u00a0But, to the country\u2019s detriment, bullying may ultimately be exposed for what it is.<\/p>\n

\n

Mark\u00a0Herrmann\u00a0spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Curmudgeon\u2019s Guide to Practicing Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(affiliate links). You can reach him by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>inhouse@abovethelaw.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Having A King May Not Be Best For America<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Photo by David Becker\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During his first term as president, Donald Trump was frustrated by the government.<\/p>\n

When Trump wanted to do things \u2014 he was, after all, the president! \u2014 he couldn\u2019t. Congress got in the way. Or the courts got in the way. Or the deep state.<\/p>\n

Trump wanted to be an unencumbered president, but the Constitution restrained him.<\/p>\n

Trump is much smarter now. He\u2019s figured out how to be king.<\/p>\n

Previous presidents typically used tariffs sparingly as a way to regulate trade. Trump has now realized that tariffs are a way to regulate essentially anything \u2014 without the rest of government getting in the way.<\/p>\n

Presidents have broad discretion to dictate tariff rates and the goods and countries to which tariffs should apply.\u00a0 Previous presidents viewed tariffs as a tool of international trade. Trump has thrown off that restraint; he views tariffs as a tool with which to bludgeon any country that won\u2019t do the president\u2019s bidding.<\/p>\n

Given the United States\u2019 economic strength, other countries have essentially no choice but to do as Trump commands.<\/p>\n

Colombia, for example, refused to accept certain American flights transporting immigrants who were being deported.<\/p>\n

What would be a good mechanism to coerce Colombia to do what Trump wanted? Tariffs!<\/p>\n

Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff; Colombia agreed to accept the immigrants.<\/p>\n

Trump thinks Canada and Mexico should do more to police their borders with the United States and should keep fentanyl from entering the country.\u00a0If Canada and Mexico won\u2019t do Trump\u2019s bidding, what\u2019s the answer?<\/p>\n

Tariffs! Congress can\u2019t (or won\u2019t) interfere; the courts can\u2019t interfere; the deep state can\u2019t interfere.<\/p>\n

Canada and Mexico can be bludgeoned into submission by Trump acting unilaterally.<\/p>\n

Trump wants to take the Panama Canal back from Panama.<\/p>\n

If Panama won\u2019t cooperate, what do you suppose the solution might be?<\/p>\n

Tariffs! Instant coercion.<\/p>\n

Trump would like Greenland to become part of the United States.\u00a0If Greenland and Denmark refuse to cooperate, there\u2019s an easy solution:\u00a0Tariffs!\u00a0Coerced by the threat (or reality) of punishing tariffs, it\u2019s remarkable how quickly other countries become cooperative.<\/p>\n

Why should Trump stop there?<\/p>\n

Suppose Trump would like other countries to buy more American goods. If the countries refuse, threaten tariffs! They\u2019ll cooperate.<\/p>\n

Suppose the United States would like to station troops on another country\u2019s land. If the country refuses, threaten tariffs! Instant cooperation.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure that even Trump would have the nerve to do this, but suppose a country wouldn\u2019t allow Trump to develop a hotel that he wanted to build. How could that country be coerced into cooperating?<\/p>\n

Tariffs! Why not? This would look (and smell) pretty bad, but it would surely do the trick.<\/p>\n

Tariffs are the solution to everything.<\/p>\n

This is, of course, a dangerous game to play.<\/p>\n

First, this is guaranteed to hurt American exports. Any country will now have to be insane to trade with the United States in a way that makes the country dependent on American goodwill. The world now knows that the United States will take advantage of its trade position to coerce other countries to do its bidding. The lesson is clear: Don\u2019t rely on the U.S.; diversify your trading partners.<\/p>\n

Second, countries, like individuals, do not take kindly to being bullied. A 98-pound weakling will accept bullying when there\u2019s no choice, but the victim may ultimately stand up to the bully.<\/p>\n

Countries can, for example, act collectively. Perhaps Colombia, by itself, can\u2019t stand up to the United States, but Latin America as a whole has more power.\u00a0The region could collectively impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States.\u00a0The United States would feel that pain.<\/p>\n

So, too, for Europe.\u00a0The United States may be able to bludgeon Denmark alone, but the calculus would be different if all of Europe chose to retaliate against Trump\u2019s bullying.<\/p>\n

Or, if collective action is not possible (or desirable), countries could change their trading partners to do business with countries that the United States fears (or is currently trying to punish).\u00a0Colombia now trades with the United States.\u00a0But if the United States is a bully, then China would surely be delighted to trade with Colombia on more reasonable terms.<\/p>\n

Bullying folks might work in the short term, but it\u2019s unlikely to work in the long term.<\/p>\n

Now that Trump has figured out how to be king, he will surely throw his weight around.\u00a0But, to the country\u2019s detriment, bullying may ultimately be exposed for what it is.<\/p>\n

\n

Mark\u00a0Herrmann\u00a0spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Curmudgeon\u2019s Guide to Practicing Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(affiliate links). You can reach him by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>[email\u00a0protected]<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Photo by David Becker\/Getty Images) During his first term as president, Donald Trump was frustrated by the government. When Trump wanted to do things \u2014 he was, after all, the president! \u2014 he couldn\u2019t. Congress got in the way. Or the courts got in the way. Or the deep state. Trump wanted to be an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":107583,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/image-9vGsfo.webp?fit=620%2C413&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}