Breaking the system

The tariff turmoil is straining the multilateral, rules-based trading system, largely built under US leadership after World War II.

"The US is violating WTO rules," said Urata. "It is very sad to see the US destroying the WTO system which the US played the key role in establishing. You can destroy a system very quickly, but it takes so much time and energy to build or rebuild the system," he said.

Otaviano Canuto, a former World Bank vice-president, warned that "reciprocal tariffs" undermine multilateralism and WTO principles like non-discrimination, potentially reviving destructive patterns from the 1930s.

Beckley echoed this historical parallel, writing, "That's how the world fell apart in the 1930s: protectionism, fear, and rising powers with no way to grow but through force."

"Trade wars don't just raise prices. They unravel alliances and push rivals toward confrontation. By treating global affairs like a transactional hustle, the United States risks tearing down the very system that has kept the peace for generations."

He described the current US approach as one of becoming a "rogue superpower", one that is "aggressive, powerful, and increasingly out for itself," suggesting this path is driven partly by the nation's capability to act unilaterally.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned on April 10 that the US-China tariff war could slash bilateral merchandise trade by "as much as 80 percent "and "severely damage the global economic outlook."

"It is critical for the global community to work together to preserve the openness of the international trading system," Okonjo-Iweala said, cautioning against the "potential fragmentation of global trade along geopolitical lines."