More from the OpEd ...

... The basics:

Trade generates revenue for governments and businesses. Every bit of business generates local trade, logistics, etc., generating state and country revenue.

This vast trade-related range of economic activities also generates jobs and profits for businesses so people can survive and grow the economy.

If governments reduce their revenue by blocking trade, they have to borrow.

Just about everyone associated with the Trump administration does business overseas.

These are super-rich people with major personal financial assets all over the world. Those assets could be very vulnerable if other countries retaliate to US trade policies or the super-unpopular foreign relations epic button-pushing by the administration. Sanity? None.

Assets can be frozen. Assets can be taken by court orders. It's not that much of a mystery to those who miraculously moved on from grade school. I do mean grade school because most of this idiocy is truly infantile.

You can see the suicidal nature of the trade wars in lock step with foreign policy.

The process of systematically and monotonously antagonizing America's allies, notably Europe, is so stupid it must be deliberate. ...