There is a popular Malaysian adage – "When elephants
fight each other, the mousedeer dies in the middle" –
where conflict between "big" entities leads to collateral
damage on the "smaller" entities.
This proverb couldn't be more evocative against the backdrop
of today's ever-present global trade war. As major economies
inflict tariffs upon tariffs on each other, smaller economies feel
the aftershock from these actions, especially in their economic
growth.
The most prominent example of this is the United States (US)
charging heavy tariffs on imported products from China, the E.U and
several other countries to encourage more local manufacturing. With
the uncertainty of Brexit, some have even hinted that this approach
could be adopted to mitigate economic shocks post U.K's
"divorce" from the E.U.
