Tariff Blackmail and Why the Global Poor Are the Collateral Damage

By Samantha Stimpson (Founder & CEO: SLS 360)

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

If you read the headlines, this is about “strategic leverage” and “protecting American interests.” In reality, it’s a power play where the scoreboard is tallied in tariffs and the losers are people with no seat at the negotiating table.

President Trump’s administration has imposed sweeping tariff hikes to India, China, the EU, and others demanding they meet U.S. foreign policy conditions, from cutting Russian oil imports to shifting defence commitments. Refusal means penalties. 

India’s refusal sees them facing a 50% tariff on key exports. China has narrowly avoided 145% tariffs with a 90-day reprieve and other countries are scrambling around to make a deal while trying to maintain autonomy on their domestic affairs. 

But who really gets hurt in all this?

1. First hit are Low-income workers in export industries

In India, tariffs on textiles, jewellery, and agricultural goods threaten millions of jobs. Many of these workers earn just enough to survive week to week. When exports dry up, there’s no safety net.

2. Next up are Consumers in poorer nations

When tariffs block or shrink trade, domestic prices climb. In countries reliant on imported staples, that can mean families having to choose between food, medicine, or school fees.

3. Smallholder Farmers feel the pinch next

Tariff-induced trade slowdowns ripple into supply chains. If a country’s shrimp industry collapses because exports are too costly in U.S. markets for example, the blow lands on rural communities miles from any city or government office. 

4. Finally, The Global Aid ecosystem

Humanitarian budgets stretch thinner when trade-linked revenue collapses. Governments with reduced export income often cut back on social programmes first, hitting vulnerable groups the hardest.

Why This Is Different from “Normal” Tariffs

Traditional tariffs, whether you agree with them or not, are typically about trade deficits or protecting domestic industry. These new measures are tied to non-trade political demands. That means a country could be punished even if its trade practices are fair, simply because it won’t change its foreign policy to suit Washington.

The danger of normalising this approach is that if major powers start using tariffs as political ultimatums, global instability deepens. Alliances strain. Trust erodes. But most of all, those who already live with the least will pay the highest price through lost income, rising prices, and dwindling opportunity.

The bottom line? This is not just an economic story. It’s a social justice story. The people whose lives are most affected by these decisions will never meet the leaders making them, never vote in their elections, and never be considered in the political calculations. Yet they will be the ones tightening belts that are already down to the last notch.

And if we stay silent, we send the message that it’s acceptable for the poorest to be collateral damage in someone else’s power game.

We are not powerless however. Here’s what we can do:

• Stay informed – Follow credible, global sources to understand the human impact of trade decisions.

• Use your voice – Write to elected representatives, sign petitions, and raise these issues in professional and community spaces.

• Join global advocacy campaigns – Support NGOs and coalitions working to protect workers and communities hit hardest by trade sanctions.

• Make it part of your inclusion work – When talking about equity, include the global dimension. Connect the dots between policy, power, and poverty.

• Vote with your money – Where possible, support fair-trade and ethical suppliers in affected countries.

Small actions, amplified collectively, can challenge the narrative that this is “just politics” and remind leaders that economic justice is inseparable from human dignity.

What we’re doing at SLS 360

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