Trump-ed bull in a China shop

The world of trade is all set for Jallikattu. The angry bull is already on the run, and there isn't anyone mighty enough to tame it. Preaching a good sermon into the bull's ears too can be dreadful.

But the Chinese president Xi Jinping, a new free trade champion, has made an honest effort. At the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, he entertained the high-priests of globalization who had flocked to the Swiss mountaintop retreat. "Whether you like it or not, the global economy is the big ocean you cannot escape from." He issued a stern warning against protectionism and trade wars. Reeling under a steady decline of foreign trade, Beijing may be positioning itself as a messiah who can attempt to resuscitate global trade. "We must promote trade and investment liberalisation," he said, adding, "No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war."

This is not something Donald Trump, the billionaire-turned US president, pays heed to. He won the mandate to rule the US on his poll promise to punish all "global rapists and thieves". During his election campaign, Trump had accused China of "raping" the US with its trade policy, adding that Beijing should be held responsible for the "greatest theft in the history of the world". He also called China "a currency manipulator".

The US suffers a huge trade deficit with Beijing as their exports to China were only $104 billion during the first 11 months (January-November) of 2016 while imports from China hit more than four-times - $423 billion. The deficit has dropped marginally to $319 billion as overall Chinese exports are on a steady decline. But the trade surplus with the US has helped China create tens of millions of jobs.

Trump's worry stems from America's fractured manufacturing sector. You barely get to see a Chevy on European roads while German carmakers like Merc, BMW and Volkswagen are household names in the US. "How many Chevrolets do you see in Germany? Not too many, maybe none," Trump recently said.

Germany's retort that customers would buy `good' cars has fired the inaugural shots in a potential trade war. Their smirk and the advice to build better cars have rubbed salt on the 'American' wound. Trump has turned his ire on foreign carmakers, including the Japanese Toyota, which use low-cost Mexican plants to serve the US market, and promised to introduce a "big border tax" on all cars built there. He is also pulling out of the proposed 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), touted as world's largest trade pact.

Trumponomics is primarily based on two rules: "buy American and hire American". He believes that protection would lead to "great prosperity and strength". He hates the word 'outsourcing' because he believes his countrymen lost millions of jobs to the low-cost markets, especially India.

His promise of 'achche din' for America has come at a time when India is facing a severe crunch in job creations. The Modi government, sitting pretty with low oil prices and a huge excise duty windfall, is now staring at the Trump tornado that's assuming a giant proportion. It may leave a trail of destruction on India's IT and pharma sectors. Maybe not.

For now, Trump's world doesn't look flat. It resembles the ground zero in the aftermath of Jallikattu.

The writer is editor, DNA Money. He tweets @AntoJoseph