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The Big Take

Trump Ripping Up the Free Trade Playbook Comes With $1 Trillion Cost

The ominous trajectory of the US president’s tariff overhaul looms over the G-7 gathering.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel deliberated with US President Donald Trump and others at the 2018 G-7 summit in Charlevoix, Canada—the last time Canada was the host country.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel deliberated with US President Donald Trump and others at the 2018 G-7 summit in Charlevoix, Canada—the last time Canada was the host country.

Photographer: Jesco Denzel/Bundesregierung/Getty Images

President Donald Trump is making his return to the Group of Seven this weekend having taken the global economy on a roller-coaster ride toward a singular destination: A world in which he is the ultimate arbiter of trade, security and power relationships, and America harvests the economic benefits.

As he does so, US tariffs are meeting growing opposition at home and abroad. From G-7 host Canada to China and the European Union, major US trading partners are mounting a firmer resistance than they did during his first term. US courts are threatening to invalidate many of the duties altogether.