Tariffs as Instruments of American Foreign Policy under the Trump Administration: Strategic Deployment and Global Trade Consequences (2017–2021)

Global trade increasingly serves as a tool of state power, shaping economic and strategic international relations. This study examines Tariffs as Instruments of American Foreign Policy under the Trump Administration: Strategic Deployment and Global Trade Consequences (2017–2021), highlighting their transformation from conventional trade measures into instruments of strategic foreign policy. While existing literature largely emphasises the economic costs of the U.S.–China trade war, limited attention has been given to tariffs as mechanisms of coercive economic statecraft embedded in geopolitical competition. Anchored in Realism Theory, the study adopts a qualitative research design, analysing U.S. policy documents, trade statistics, WTO dispute records, and peer-reviewed literature published between 2017 and 2024. Thematic analysis was employed to examine strategic intent, sectoral targeting, retaliatory dynamics, and institutional consequences. Findings reveal that tariffs on $370 billion of Chinese imports focused on high-technology and advanced manufacturing sectors, whereas steel and aluminium duties were imposed on allied countries. Retaliatory measures disrupted supply chains, increased domestic costs, and strained multilateral institutions. The study concludes that Trump-era tariffs provided short-term bargaining leverage but generated systemic instability and accelerated strategic realignments within the global trade order. It recommends that future U.S. trade policy balance coercive measures with multilateral engagement to ensure long-term global stability.