A Changing World With No Strategy In Sight

A new set of economic and political rules, driven by the Trump Administration, are creating a future that has no rational strategy. This is creating uncertainties. Traditional rules in place since the demise of the USSR are evaporating almost daily. This is impacting global trades in volume and routing terms, playing havoc with political relationships as tariffs are used as a political leverage that has nothing to do with trade.

The global nations are left in a quandary trying to work out their relationship with the US. Too many countries have become subservient to Trump in their attempt to gain favour in both the economic and political environment, all trooping to the White House on bended knees. There is fear in the air, make no mistake. The US is losing its democratic mantle and rapidly becoming an authoritarian state much like Russia, Türkiye, Belarus, Hungary, and North Korea but to name a few. The Russians were recently welcomed with open arms in Alaska, and their Foreign Secretary made his message clear with his sweatshirt emblazoned with “USSR.”

The expected decline of the US and EU economies has been slower than expected despite the fact that the US GDP in the first half of this year is half that of the comparable period in 2024. Europe, meanwhile, is spluttering along with minimal growth, notwithstanding the British Prime Minister claiming that his country has the highest growth in the G7, this despite the fact that GDP grew by a mere 0.3% in the second quarter of 2025 (April to June), a slowdown from the 0.7% growth in the first quarter.

The negative signs of a looming economic crisis are not getting much attention, for example, the 30-year government bond yields are reaching historic highs as a result of nations borrowing more money, which in a volatile world becomes more expensive. This results in national debt repayments sucking up money that could be put to better use in bolstering their economies. We should not expect interest rates to fall globally as the pressures on the cost of living are increasing.

Between the pressures of convoluted trade policies, unstable economic policies, and a surge in geopolitical chaos it is not surprising that the levels of uncertainty are unprecedented. There is at the moment a shortage of positiveness on the darkening horizon.