Anyone who has taken their children to Disneyworld in the U.S. has felt the pressure to go on "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride." Based on the character from the children's classic, "The Wind in the Willows," Mr. Toad is the reckless scion of the largest building in the forest, Toad Hall. Fabulously wealthy, he buys a car to impress his friends, although he has no idea how to drive. He loads his companions into the vehicle, liberally honking the horn as he careens on a path of destruction, heedless of the damage he does and exhilarated by the fear he engenders.
U.S. trade policy is now on "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride," with the difference being that the Disney version ends where it began, with no harm done. The Trump administration's lack of predictability and indifference to global risk is the new normal. Nowhere does President Donald Trump's trade policy carry a greater risk than in the interplay of the world's two largest economies, the U.S. and China.
