We’ll never know except in hindsight what the pin will be that pops today's Mother Of All Bubbles. But a global trade war is an excellent candidate if you're placing odds with a bookie today.
Of course, the blame lies not with the pin. Rather, it should be placed at the feet of the causal conditions that created the bubble in the first place.
Trump has declared his intent to levy tariffs on various goods, with steel and aluminum as the first items targeted. But he’s clearly set his sights far wider and higher than these two industrial metals as this morning’s (3/7/18) tweet from the POTUS indicates:
Trump wants American jobs and factories to return. He cites some pretty grueling and relatively accurate statistics in support of his position. And it's looking like we can safely bet that Trump is planning to increase tariffs on many more products than steel and aluminum.
He also tweeted previously that a trade war would be “good” and “easy to win.”
But whether tariffs or a trade war could reverse those statistics, or possibly make them even worse, is another matter entirely.
Not so surprisingly, the response from US trading partners has been swift and strongly-worded:
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said last week that the European Union would propose new tariffs on American products like Harley-Davidsons, Levi's jeans and bourbon. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Ottawa would also take “responsive measures” to the U.S. tariffs.
China has similarly vowed retaliation against
by cmartenson 
