President Trump’s tariff announcement on 2 April marked a decisive break from the multilateral economic order the United States has led since the mid-20th century. This announcement served not just as a policy pivot, but as a deliberate effort to dismantle the liberal world order and replace it with a nationalist, transactional economic model. Critically, this reordering undermines the economic interconnectivity that gives sanctions their strength: shared financial systems, regulatory alignment, and interdependence. Less obviously, it points to another strategic shift. Tariffs, which Trump regards as revenue-generating tools, are now supplanting sanctions as America’s primary tool of coercive diplomacy. In effect, the Trump administration is signalling an almost complete de-prioritisation of traditional multi-national sanctions implementation and enforcement efforts. For Europe, this shift presents both risk and opportunity. While it reduces Europe’s ability to rely on US-led enforcement, it also provides a clear mandate to invest in autonomous, strategically coherent sanctions enforcement capacity.
Trump’s Tariffs are Replacing Sanctions | Royal United Services Institute
