“Many of President Trump’s decisions—not only in the economic sphere—are simply irrational, false, and harmful to both the United States and the rest of the world. To put it bluntly: they are sick,” says Professor Grzegorz Kołodko, former Polish Minister of Finance, in a scathing critique of Trump’s economic policy, known as “Trumponomics.” In his book “Trump 2.0: The Revolution of Sick Reason”, Kołodko examines the consequences of Trump’s economic strategies and warns of the growing global turmoil they are causing.
Kołodko specifically criticizes the chaos caused by the imposition, suspension, and reimposition of tariffs, arguing that such unpredictability disrupts international trade, economic cooperation, and market stability.
“His rhetoric about ‘Making America Great Again’ is built on flawed economic reasoning. The madness of imposing, lifting, and reinstating tariffs damages global trade and cooperation, disrupts normal economic activity, and contributes to inflation—even in the U.S. It also creates volatility in financial markets,” Kołodko told the Newseria news agency. “From a common-sense perspective, these are reckless decisions, and I find them hard to comprehend.”
Tariff Turbulence Under Trump 2.0
Donald Trump’s second presidential term began on January 20, 2025, when the U.S. had an effective tariff rate of 2.5%. One of his administration’s first moves was to target major trading partners—Mexico, Canada, the European Union, and China. On April 2, Trump declared a “Day of Liberation” and announced a complex tariff scheme affecting dozens of countries, with rates ranging from 10% to 49%. This caused the effective U.S. tariff rate to spike to 27%. Most of the tariffs, however, were suspended for 90 days, until July 9.
Trump also threatened to impose a 50% tariff on the European Union, only to suspend it as well—again until July 9. China, however, was not spared. The rekindled trade war with Beijing resulted in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods rising to 145%, and China retaliating with 125% tariffs on American products. The two countries eventually agreed to a temporary deal, reducing tariffs by 115 percentage points, though a 10% tariff remained in place during the negotiation period.
“Trump and his supporters often justify these tactics as part of a negotiation strategy. The mere threat of tariffs forces others to respond and negotiate. In the short term, this may benefit the U.S. economy, but over time, such behavior damages global trade. Trumponomics fails to grasp this long-term harm,” Kołodko argues. “In fact, Americans themselves suffer the most—perhaps even more than the Chinese or Europeans—despite Trump treating the EU arguably worse than China.”
Economic Fallout
Trump’s tariff policies have already affected U.S. economic projections. The Federal Reserve’s March 2025 forecast revised expected GDP growth down to 1.5–1.9%, from 1.8–2.2% in December 2024. The median projection for 2025 is now 1.7%, down from 2.1%. Forecasts for 2026 and 2027 were also trimmed. Similarly, the OECD lowered its growth outlook for the U.S. in early June, forecasting 1.6% GDP growth in 2025 (down from 2.2%) and 1.5% in 2026.
“The U.S. economy will still grow, but slower than if the previous policies had continued. It will remain a powerful country, but not in the way Trump envisions. His approach is to strengthen America by weakening others—China, the EU, and effectively the rest of the world,” Kołodko explains. “Many economists and politicians in the U.S. are beginning to recognize that Trumponomics harms American economic interests—and those consequences will become more evident over time.”
Misunderstanding Tariffs
Kołodko points out that higher tariffs do not guarantee higher budget revenues. Instead, they often reduce trade volume and raise consumer prices.
“Trump thinks that if the U.S. imports $100 billion worth of goods and slaps a 50% tariff on them, it will generate $50 billion in revenue. That’s a double mistake. First, it’s not exporters who pay the tariffs—it’s American consumers, as the cost is passed on. Second, tariffs reduce the volume of imports, so the actual revenue is far lower than expected. Ultimately, this hurts both trade and the U.S. budget, which is already in dire straits,” Kołodko warns.
The U.S. federal deficit now stands at 7% of GDP, and debt levels continue to rise. In Q1 2025, U.S. GDP contracted by 0.2% (annualized)—the worst performance in three years. Panic buying of imports ahead of tariff deadlines inflated inventory levels and drove imports up by more than 42%, resulting in a sharp decline in net exports.
Beyond the Economy
Kołodko also criticizes Trump’s non-economic decisions, such as attacks on free speech, cutting foreign aid to poor countries, and defunding American universities.
“I’m not even talking about absurd ideas like making Canada the 51st U.S. state or trying to annex Greenland or Panama. The only aspect I view positively in this term is Trump’s efforts to end the Russia–Ukraine war. While these efforts have been ineffective, perhaps partly due to insufficient sanctions on Russia, Trump is not someone who seeks hot wars or bloodshed. His push to get Moscow and Kyiv to negotiate a ceasefire is commendable,” Kołodko concludes.
Source: CEO.com.pl – Trump 2.0 and the ‘Revolution of Sick Reason’
