Trump's 'Overt' Tariff Wielding is Unlike Anything America Has Seen, Historian Says

President Donald Trump's use of potential tariffs to advance foreign policy goals that don't necessarily have to do with trade is not a first in U.S. history, but the magnitude is, according to an economic historian.

Speaking to The New York Times, Douglas Irwin, who works at Dartmouth College, recalled that Richard Nixon said he would only return Okinawa to Japan if the country sent "fewer textiles to the United States." Trump's approach, however, is "very overt and transactional," he explained.

Trump has threatened to put tariffs on Russia if it continues its war in Ukraine, on Denmark if it continues to refuse giving up Greenland, and on Mexico and Canada due to his perception that the countries are not doing enough to curb unlawful immigration into the country.

The most recent example took place on Sunday, when Trump announced tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after the country rejected two deportation flights over the way nationals were being treated, including the use of military aircraft. Colombian President Gustavo Petro promptly announced he would match the tariff and went on a tirade against the U.S.

The standoff ended after a few hours with both countries announcing an agreement had been reached. The Trump administration added that tariffs and sanctions won't be imposed as long as Colombia honors the agreement, but visa sanctions and "enhanced inspections from Customs and Border Protection will continue until the first plane with deportees lands in the South American country.

Kevin Whitaker, a former US ambassador to Colombia who now serves as a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, told AFP that "the message that's being sent is how willing the Trump administration is to use these tools, and the fact that they got the opportunity to make that point in the first week of the administration, I'm sure, is quite pleasing for them."

Trump himself echoed the sentiment on Monday, telling reporters on Air Force One that "it serves the world well to look at" how the conformation with Colombia unfolded.