The Vietnam Peace, Metternich, and Trump's Trade Strategy

The critics said tariffs would start a trade war. Instead, Donald Trump may have just ended one.

On Monday, the White House announced a trade agreement with Vietnam: a 20 percent tariff on goods imported to the United States, and in return, Vietnam will eliminate all tariffs on U.S. exports. A threatened 46 percent tariff—set to take effect July 9—has been shelved.

There was no retaliation. No collapse in talks. No spiral. What happened was something very different: a negotiated settlement. A reset. One that suggests Trump’s trade policy, long dismissed as erratic and dangerous, is in fact grounded in a tradition older—and more serious—than his critics ever imagined.

This is not a revolution. It is a restoration.