The leader of the world’s most powerful country is a dangerous ignoramus. So how should the rest of the world respond? What makes this so difficult to answer is that Donald Trump has created chaos. It is so difficult to negotiate with him because nobody knows what he and his team want. This is just not normal.

The administration’s trade actions and announced intentions are, in this context, important in themselves and indicative of the wider dysfunction. The US has imposed tariffs on imports of solar panels, washing machines, steel and aluminium. If one adds two rounds of tariffs on China under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, the affected trade comes to about 7 per cent of US imports.

If one allows for the threat of retaliation against retaliation, which could affect an additional $400bn of imports from China, as well as the possibility of tariffs on $275bn of imports of cars and parts, total affected imports reaches $800bn, or about a third of US imports of goods. The US actions have already caused retaliation (see charts).