US President Donald Trump’s mercurial behaviour reminds one of a boy named Calvin in a classic comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson. When Calvin looks at a tiger called Hobbes, the boy sees a real tiger while everyone else sees Hobbes as a toy. Calvin forms a club called ‘Get Rid of Slimy Girls’, and his main purpose is to exclude his neighbour Susie Derkins from the treehouse. However, when he is forced to let others in, Calvin chooses to move the treehouse.

Trump too keeps shifting the goal-post when it comes to using tariffs as his trump card. BRICS is a special target for the whimsical president. Two BRICS members, Brazil and India, have been targeted with 50 per cent tariff. The Trump administration has now threatened to impose additional tariffs on India if the Trump-Putin peace talks fail. Former US National security adviser John Bolton has described Trump’s tariffs against India as “unforced error.” While India’s response is sober and somewhat restrained, Brazilian president Lula has described unreasonable tariffs as “unacceptable blackmail.” He has called upon India, China and other BRICS members to unite against Trump’s tariffs.

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The unreasonable tariffs are another form of sanctions. Trump is not known for doing his homework before opening his mouth. He wrongly claimed the US runs a trade deficit with Brazil. The fact is that Washington has a $7.4 billion trade surplus with Brazil. Another BRICS member, South Africa, faces 30 per cent tariffs. Trump has cut off aid to this country accusing the government of discriminating against its white minority without any proof. He has already announced that he will not attend the Johannesburg Summit of G20 in November this year. China and Russia are targets of a different........

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