Just after midnight on Tuesday, EDT time, the wall of tariffs Donald Trump announced last week came into effect. The new system upends decades of precedent from the world’s strongest economy and has sent global markets reeling.

The Guardian’s senior economics correspondent, Richard Partington, explains to Michael Safi the dynamics of a market crash and a trade war and how together they may contribute to the onset of a global recession. However, as he makes clear, the world is not yet in that worst-case scenario and steps can still be taken to minimise the risk.

Partington explains that even if the tariffs were reversed, decisions being made by governments and businesses have already moved the world into a new economic era – one in which China may make gains and where many workers at the bottom of shifting supply chains are likely to lose out.

Finally, the pair discuss whether all of this global economic turbulence may, in fact, be part of Trump’s plan.