Trump's protectionism will disrupt global trade order

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross betrayed the rationale for the United States' trade strategy in an interview with CNBC last week, admitting that US President Donald Trump wants to create an environment of pain for China so that it will give in to his demands.

Given this, it is not hard to understand why Trump has announced further tariffs on Chinese goods and threatened to add more if China hits back.

And it explains why, despite agreed outcomes from the negotiations between the two sides, the United States has gone back on its word in an attempt to extort more concessions from China.