Donald Trump's weapon of choice in a trade war is the import duty. Yet the self-appointed "Tariff Man" has also been wielding another cudgel: uncertainty.By sowing doubts about the future of even the longest-term economic relationships, Trump has repeatedly proclaimed his intent is to deter companies from investing outside the U.S. and to destabilize the economies of the nations with which he's negotiating. The not-so-subtle message goes something like this: Wondering how long the U.S.China feud will drag on? Worried about which nation Trump will pick a fight with next? Build your factory here and help Make America Great Again."I can't think of when we've seen this approach before," says Maurice Obstfeld, the International Monetary Fund's outgoing chief economist. "No president should want to purposely inject more uncertainty into the decision process of private-sector actors."
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