A foretaste of what President Donald Trump’s vaunted ‘Make America Great Again’ agenda might have in store for the rest of humanity was on full exhibition during his address to business leaders and heads of government on January 23, barely days after he was sworn in for a second term in office at the World Economic Forum gathering at the Swiss Skiing resort of Davos. Among its main ingredients were an array of undisguised demands imposed on other sovereign nations, starting with Saudi Arabia and other oil producers, who were told to reduce prices.

President Trump was then emphatic that Central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, should cut interest rates, setting aside time-honoured convention that governments respect the banks’ mandate to pursue an independent monetary policy. Concern is already growing among economists that, consequent to the unfolding stringent curbs on immigration, U.S. inflation will touch 2.6% this year, up from what was just over the stipulated 2% mark preceding the November 2024 election.

Then came Trump’s warning to foreign companies to invest in American factories or face tariffs. In a particularly cryptic message to the European Union, where trade accounts for more than a fifth of its Gross Domestic Product, the bloc must stop slapping what President Trump called “competitive fines” and purchase more oil from the U.S. or face punitive........

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