Donald Trump himself appointed one of the three judges on the US Court of International Trade who, at first instance, blocked his tariffs and ruled them illegal. It is an ominous sign for the self-described dealmaker in the White House: even if his administration secures a temporary stay on appeal, this won’t be able to erase the era-defining blow dealt by Moody’s downgrade of U.S. public debt.

That was a brutal blow indeed: by the end of the year, the U.S. Treasury must place about $2 trillion in new issues and roll over some $8 trillion in maturing securities. A downgrade means higher Treasury yields, and higher yields mean higher costs for debt servicing. In light of the ruling – despite Trump’s lightning-fast appeals – Giorgia Meloni and Emmanuel Macron will have one more excuse to drop the issue of tariffs from Tuesday’s “relaxed” talks. They will likely squander yet another chance to take up the agenda Christine Lagarde revived just days ago: using the U.S. trade war........

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