And what of US trading partners? As American importers scrambled to switch suppliers last year, Asian producers such as Thailand and Vietnam benefitted at the expense of more highly tariffed China.
But China has still flourished, thanks to a surge in imports of IT hardware into the US amid the AI boom.
Beijing has also intensified its focus on emerging markets in Africa – and been wooed by the likes of Canada.
The Trump trade tremors were a catalyst that intensified efforts for many countries to pivot and strengthen alternate trading relationships.
In fact, global trade likely outpaced world economic growth last year.
It’s questionable if that will be replicated this year, amid fresh uncertainty.
But the US repeatedly demonstrating that it’s a volatile partner, regardless of the trade terms it settles on, may only drive previously close allies – such as the EU and UK – away and further into each other’s arms.
And there’s more uncertainty still – over how agreements that were struck for countries such as Japan to invest more in the US in return for avoiding the worst of the IEEPA tariffs will now evolve.
The financial markets, too, will of course have to grapple with yet another bout of uncertainty.
So while the president has had one potent lever removed, the legacy of his actions remains.
The last year has been dominated by a president who thrives on weaponising uncertainty and appearing to get the upper hand in negotiations.
But equally, he’s dealing with a world that’s become more adept at riding that wave – and making the most of it.
