Global South: Trump is playing into China's hands

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ould President Donald Trump's tariff policy and his actions on the international stage backfire on him? Less than five months after proclaiming April 2 as "Liberation Day," supposedly freeing the US from injustices imposed by global trade imbalances, the policy appears to have been largely counterproductive for Washington politically.

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India-US alliance weakened by trade, Pakistan and oil disputes

This blowback is most evident in countries in the so-called Global South that were hit with arbitrarily assessed tariff increases. In response, these countries have tended to strengthen their ties with China. Two major countries of the Global South, India and Brazil, in particular, pushed back against Washington's dictate by turning toward Beijing. These countries are also partners within the BRICS, a non-Western organization whose acronym stands for its original member states: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.