The Economic Consequences of Mr Trump: What the Trade War Means for the World

by Philip Coggan

Economic policy set at the whim of one man. Tariffs up one day and down the next. Businesses bewildered, consumers alarmed. As Donald Trump wages his trade war, what will become of a global economy dependent on close trading links? Leading financial journalist Philip Coggan lifts the lid on Trump's economic gamble, why it's a universal threat and how we can make sense of this new 'age of chaos'. This is his clear-sighted and powerful rallying cry in defence of global trade - and why it matters for the world.

Genres: Politics

144 pages, Paperback

Published August 12, 2025

About the author

Philip Coggan is a British columnist and author of books on economics. He currently writes for The Economist. Previously, he worked for the Financial Times for 20 years.

Reviews

[Molsie]

An intellectually succinct take down of the idiocracy being spewed by the current administration.

I found the comparison to Mao’s ‘continuous revolution’ particularly compelling, given that I myself had not made that now seemingly obvious connection, in tandem with the sheer irony of Trump’s clear distain for anything mildly resembling communist ideology.

Every day that he remains in the White House, America continuously bleeds soft power. I found this particular, albeit brief, section deeply interesting, especially in its mention of Mark Carney’s recent election. With Canada’s recent dramatic rise in soft power, both out of defiance to US complicity and organically, it will be interesting to see how his term plays out, given that a large part of his popularity stemmed from his ability to meet Trump’s threats head on.

It turns out when you re-elect a grossly under-qualified raging narcissistic and put him in charge of the world’s largest economy it does in fact have consequences for everyone!! It’s just a shame that the very people who allowed him this access will likely never pick up a book, or any form of media, with this information.

[Evelyn]

This is a short erudite analysis of why the United States government’s attempt to achieve economic gains including the return of offshore manufacturing jobs, and market dominance through the imposition of high tariffs on imported goods won’t work.

[Jason Y]

lowk biased

[Pachyderm Bookworm]

Sharp, accessible, free from polemic.

[ASC Library]

337.73 Cog