In Donald Trump’s first term as president, Japan stood out as an exception in opting not to retaliate against his tariff hikes, as the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reckoned it was better to shrug them off in favor of maintaining the broader economic and security relationship.

The president has pitched his trade policies at workers who feel left behind by globalization. But that doesn’t mean trade barriers will revive factories and close income gaps.

For months President Donald Trump has been slapping higher tariffs on practically every country’s exports to the United States, citing emergency economic powers.