New Delhi, March 24 -- The randomness of Donald Trump's tariffs has underscored that a state of flux for businesses is the only constant. That this has been inflicted by one of the chief architects of the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s rules of global trade is ironic, as it has left us with this mockery of a rules-based order.

Last April, the US President alleged that foreign trade and economic practices had created a national emergency and imposed tariffs across imports from all countries. Ten months later, the US Supreme Court ruled that they were unlawful. Soon after, Trump threatened other "powerful alternatives" and imposed a 10% tariff on all imports on the ground that the US had a balance-of-payment crisis. This action too has n...