Tariff Hypocrisy
Bully will get the deal.
America lectures the world about sovereignty and democracy. Then it meddles in elections and taxes citizens without their consent. The hypocrisy is nauseating.
The word tariff comes from Arabic “taʿrīf” meaning notification or making known. In trade it became an official list of customs fees. From Arabic through Persian and Turkish into Italian and French. Finally, English got the tariff. It is a tax invented before economics was recognized as a science. It is an import tax hiding behind fancy language. Tariff is one word which hides an entire universe of philosophy, ideology, politics and economics behind it.
Beneath the simple mechanism of tariff, sits centuries of argument about what nations owe each other, what prosperity means, and whether countries should compete or cooperate.
The free trade camp sees tariffs as barriers to human progress. Open borders for goods enable cheaper products, more choices, and global prosperity. Competition makes everyone better. Consumers win when they can buy from anywhere. The philosophy here assumes abundance, mutual benefit, and the power of markets to lift all boats.
The protectionist camp sees tariffs as shields for national sovereignty. Local industries need room to grow without getting crushed by foreign giants. Manufacturing jobs anchor communities. Self-sufficiency matters during crises. This philosophy assumes scarcity, competition for resources, and the need for nations to protect their own first.
Economics cannot settle this because the debate is not really about efficiency. It is about values. What matters more, inexpensive shirts or factory jobs in your hometown? Global GDP growth or national resilience? Consumer choice or worker stability?
Politics enters because tariffs redistribute power. Import taxes help some groups and hurt others. Manufacturers love protection. Consumers hate higher prices. Exporters fear retaliation. Each tariff creates winners and losers, which means it creates political battles.
Ideology runs through everything. Libertarians see tariffs as government interference involuntary exchange. Nationalists see them as tools of sovereignty. Progressives sometimes support them to protect labour standards. Conservatives are split between free market purists and economic nationalists.
One word with entire philosophical systems hiding behind it.
The Theater
On April 2, 2025 , President Trump announced a universal tariff of 10% on all goods entering America. Country specific tariffs followed. Pakistan got 19%. Syria faced 41%. Some rates increased from initial levels. Brazil jumped from 10% to 50%. Canada rose from 25% to 35%.
It was a roller coaster ride. Announcements today. Withdrawn tomorrow. Imposed again the next day. The world got alive demonstration of how Henry VIII of England ran his court.
In August 2025, Trump escalated tariffs on Indian goods to 50%. This started with 25% on July 30th. Another increase came on August 27th. The reason was India'soil purchases from Russia. America called these “secondary sanctions” to pressure Moscow as India imports 40% of its oil from Russia.
These tariffs targeted textiles, jewellery, footwear, chemicals, machinery, and seafood. About $48 billion out of total value of $86.5 billion of Indian exports were hit by tariff. That's 10% of India's total export value. Pharmaceuticals, electronics, and smartphones were spared from tariffs. Pharmaceuticals were supposed to be levied tariff from October 1, 2025 but those were mysteriously omitted without any statement. It was clarified in press releases that generic medicine was not targeted and 90% of Indian exports were generic.
Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify these actions. He called tariffs “reciprocal” meaning they mirror foreign charges on American exports. This rationale was disputed. American tariffs often exceeded foreign rates.
Here'show tariffs actually work. I tried Trump's brilliant strategy at home. I told my wife I would impose tariff on all vendors. Milk, vegetables, fruits, everything. These guys sell to us but don't buy anything from us. I announced a 50% tariff following the President.
I asked the milkman to pay a 50% tariff before supplying milk. He said OK immediately. Next day my wife informed that the price of milk had been raised by double and we have to shell out 1000 rupees instead of 500. Everyone had raised prices. Milk cost 200 rupees instead of 100. I got 50 rupees from the milkman. But I paid 500 extra in higher prices. Net loss was 450 rupees.
Trump knows American consumers pay higher prices. He is boastfully economical with truth about tariffs punishing foreign countries. American voters think they're punishing India. They're actually paying Trump's tariff costs themselves. Why should consumer pay? Citizens will pay so that the Administration does not have to cut Government expenses. More explanation about objectives of levying of tariffs has been discussed in a later chapters.
The tariffs aren't just bad policy. They're effective political theatre generating revenue from citizens while foreigners appear to pay costs.
Legal Challenge
Trump invoked emergency powers without justification. No war was happening. Courts challenged his jurisdiction to impose taxes without Congress' approval. The challenge relies on the principle prohibiting executive power to tax without legislative approval. This connects to the Henry VIII clause in British law. Henry VIII clause lets executive branch change primary legislation without parliamentary approval. The original was in Statute of Sewers 1531 and Statute of Proclamations 1539. These gave King Henry VIII legislative powers without parliament.
Remember “ No Taxation without Representation” from previous chapters? Trump turned the American liberation rationale upside down. He did this on Liberation Day itself i.e. April 2nd. The irony couldn't be greater.
Federal Circuit Court ruled August 29, 2025 that Trump exceeded authority under IEEPA. Congress reserves tariff setting powers with clear procedural safeguards. IEEPA lacks these safeguards. The court called Trump'suse contrary to law and improper delegation of Congressional authority.
The ruling has been stayed until October 14, 2025, allowing the U.S. administration to seek review from the Supreme Court. In its arguments, the administration has claimed that the tariffs were imposed to counteract threats related to the ** Ukraine war** , positioning them as necessary for national security and foreign policy. Really?
The matter is pending before the Supreme Court.
Ukraine Meddling
President Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs through executive orders in 2025 while America had invaded Ukraine's politics well before 2014, which was revealed through leaked phone calls. Both actions show the same pattern. Preach one thing but do another.
USA’s Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland's leaked phone call exposed American meddling in Ukraine's government formation. She discussed Ukrainian leadership with Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt in January 2014. Elected President Yanukovych was still in office.
Nuland said she didn't think boxer Vitaly Klitschko should join the new government. She said “I don't think Klitsch should go into the government. I don't think it's necessary. I don't think it's a good idea.”
American officials didn't deny the recording's authenticity. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said “I did not say it was not authentic.” She criticized Russians for publicizing the tape as “new low in Russian trade-craft.”
Psaki justified the conversation saying “It should be no surprise that American officials talk about issues around the world. That's what diplomats do.”
Did she know Vienna Convention Article 41(1)? It states diplomats must “not interfere in the internal affairs” of host countries. But the America knew this treaty when it expelled 35 Russian diplomats in December 2016 for “acting inconsistently with their diplomatic status.” The reason was alleged Russian interference in American elections.
Different standards for America and everyone else.
Mackinder's War
AB ritish named Halford Mackinder drew a map in 1904 that still kills people today. He said whoever controls Eastern Europe commands the Heartland i.e. Central Eurasia, roughly modern Russia and Central Asia. Control the Heartland and you control the World Island. Control the World Island and you rule the planet. It was British anxiety about Russia dressed up as geographical science, but it worked. The theory became doctrine. The USA is paranoid of breach of Mackinder’s heartland. It is a threat to the Empire.
Ukraine sits exactly where Mackinder said the decisive battle would happen. For 30 years, NATO expanded eastward. Poland, the Baltics, Romania as each membership pushed closer to Russia's borders. To Moscow, this looked like encirclement. To Washington, it looked like spreading democracy. Both were really just playing Mackinder's game. Ukraine was the line Russia would not let cross. Let it join NATO and the Heartland is breached, Western military infrastructure reaches Russia'score, everything the theory warns about happens. So, Russia invaded in 2022. It was an expected response.
The West's response followed the same play-book. Arm Ukraine. Sanction Russia. Strengthen the containment ring. Keep the Heartland power locked inside its borders. Both sides think they're defending vital interests. Both are really defending positions on a 120-year-old map that treats countries as chess pieces. Ukrainians die while great powers fight over who controls the gateway to a region that only matters because a British geographer said it did. Narcissistic Cartography isn't just intellectually wrong, it's operationally deadly. Mackinder drew lines in 1904. People bleed on them today.
It is the same play-book the USA used against India. It armed Pakistan and sat back to see it jump to war. It has happened multiple times. Abhay Singh, a lawmaker in Russia designated as Dutat articulated it perfectly. He said that " Ukrainians have been used by various powers like Pakistan was first used by the British, followed by the USA and then China. A feeling of animosity was created among the Ukrainians against Russians, and young Ukrainians are being taught to hate Russians."
When it comes down to language, the Ukraine and Pakistan are even more similar. An Indian and Pakistani can talk without using any third language. Just like Ukraine and Russia. Same language but with different dialect.
Ukraine's Chronology
Ukraine is now a grand spectre of meddling of foreign powers. It shows when leaders of country invite foreign help to gain power, they lose the nation.
Yanukovych, the then President of Ukraine, suspended the EU association agreement in November 2013. This sparked Euromaidan protests in Kiev. Clashes between protesters and security forces killed over 100 people.
Yanukovych signed an EU brokered deal for early elections February 21, 2014. Two days later he fled Kiev. Parliament voted to remove him and appointed an interim government. New parliament repealed the 2012 language law favouring Russian speakers on February 23rd. This increased tensions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Armed men seized key Crimean sites the next day.
On March 16th referendum was passed which supported joining Russia despite international condemnation. Russia formally annexed Crimea on March 18th.
Armed separatist movements emerged in Donetsk and Luhansk. Ukraine called these illegal insurgencies with Russian backing. Moscow denied direct involvement while providing political support.
Minsk Agreement
The Minsk agreements, specifically the first (Minsk I) signed in September 2014 and followed by Minsk II in February 2015, were designed to halt fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists. Key components of these accords included organizing local elections under international supervision, withdrawing heavy weapons from the conflict zone's frontline, releasing detained individuals (prisoners), and restoring control over border crossings that were previously seized by armed groups. Despite the intentions to de-escalate hostilities in Eastern Ukraine, these agreements could not ensure compliance from involved parties, leading to a persistent conflict situation on the ground. This non-compliance led to present day conflict.
After amassing troops near Ukraine’s borders for months, Russia recognized the breakaway regions on 21 February 2022 and began moving forces into them. Two days later, on 24 February 2022, it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia's assertion was that the Minsk agreements were breached by President Zelenskyy and discrimination against Russian-speaking individuals.
USA’s Financing the War
'Ukraine Will Never Be a Victory for Russia. Never' (President Joe Biden on 21 February, 2023)
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the United States has become Ukraine’s largest single supporter. It provided well over ** $120 billion in combined assistance by mid-2025. Roughly ** $70–75 billion has gone to military and security aid of Ukraine. It has been supplied air-defense systems such as Patriot and NASAMS, long-range artillery, armoured vehicles including Abrams tanks, drones, ammunition, and extensive troop training and intelligence support. Another ** $35–40 billion has been direct economic and budgetary assistance to keep Ukraine’s government services functioning, alongside about ** $15 billion in humanitarian relief for refugees, food aid, energy-grid repairs, and medical supplies. These packages, passed through multiple U.S. congressional appropriations and supplemental bills, combine grants and loans and are coordinated with European allies whose collective commitments are also substantial. Often this aid is alleged to be a money laundering operation as very little aid is used for intended purpose but it is hard to prove and not relevant for our discovery.
The Sudan Crisis
The USA and Europe are worried about Ukraine and deaths there but more people are killed in Africa’s Sudan. At least 91 people were killed in El-Fasher during 10 days of RSF attacks in late September 2025. Over 260,000 people are trapped there without adequate food, water, or medical care. The two-year conflict has caused over 150,000 deaths from combat, more than 500,000 deaths from hunger and disease, and displaced nearly 12 million people.
This crisis receives no global attention, unlike the conflicts like Ukraine. Brutal conflicts and humanitarian disasters in African and Global South countries often receive less sustained attention compared to crises in Europe i.e. Ukraine. Why? White life matters?
Pattern of Deception
America lectures about sovereignty while meddling in elections. It preaches democracy while bypassing Congress through executive orders. It condemns interference while orchestrating government changes. It expresses displeasure for supporting war while actively supplying weapons to a warring nation. The pattern is consistent. It remains consistent. Moral language covering strategic interests.
Same play book. Different century. Let’s visit the wars of the previous century to compare with the present scenario.
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