🇦🇺USTR violates Australia-US Free Trade Agreement with unilateral 10% tariff

Trump's tariffs on European steel, Canadian lumber, and Mexican agriculture destroy the cooperative relationships essential for collective defense. Military alliances cannot survive economic warfare between partners, forcing European leaders to choose between American security cooperation and protecting their domestic economies from hostile trade policies.

When America imposes tariffs on democratic partners, European and Asian allies develop alternative trade relationships with Beijing that exclude American businesses. Chinese President Xi Jinping gains economic influence over American allies while Trump's policies drive democratic partners into authoritarian economic partnerships.

The Marshall Plan, NATO, and post-war economic integration created 75 years of American global leadership through cooperative partnerships. Trump's tariff policies abandon these strategic frameworks for immediate political benefits, destroying institutional relationships that took generations to build but can be eliminated in months.

Canadian businesses invest in Mexican and Asian partnerships to avoid American trade uncertainty, while European companies shift to non-American suppliers for long-term contracts. Trade relationships lost to political volatility take decades to rebuild, permanently reducing American economic influence in allied markets.