Tariffs are a counter-productive policy, both misconceived and damaging to those who impose them. The new tariffs imposed by President Trump will make US goods more expensive for US consumers.

There’s an old City adage that specific mistakes only come along once in a generation. Folk see the mistake, learn from it, then don’t repeat it.

Many years ago I published a paper entitled ‘The Paratransit Light Vehicle.’ It examined ride-sharing schemes in several world cities. These included the Philippine jeepneys, the Argentine colectivos, the Turkey dolmus, the Israeli sheruts and others.

President Donald Trump has decided to impose tariffs upon almost all the world, excluding Russia, Belarus, and North Korea. These tariffs start at 10% for ‘lucky’ countries like the UK and Brazil and escalate to a staggering 49% for Cambodia.

We do think this is a sign of something having gone wrong. But then there are few who do think society is wholly and justly on exactly the right path at present.