Trade Tariffs, IT Systems and Graceful Degradation

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The EU’s1 situation with US steel and aluminum tariffs2 reminds me of an IT system dealing with failing dependencies. A well-designed system doesn’t crash — it gracefully degrades, keeping core functions running while adapting.

In IT, when something breaks, we do a blameless post-mortem3 to understand and improve. The EU should take the same approach — not reacting emotionally, but using this as a chance to rethink and strengthen itself.

tariff

1. Learning from the Situation

First, we need to understand the impact.

Like debugging a system failure, we should ask: What are the weak points? How do we avoid being caught off guard next time? Without analysis, we stay vulnerable.

2. Turning Constraints into Strength

Instead of reacting with counter-tariffs, we should treat this as a forcing function for improvement.

As I wrote in Shift Right to Shift Left4, constraints often push us toward better solutions. Here, that means adapting, evolving, and building something better than before.

Even if the tariffs are lifted before taking effect, the lesson remains: the EU benefits by strengthening itself regardless of external decisions.

3. Engaging with the US, Not Escalating

The EU has a plan — these tariffs won’t weaken us but will push us to improve. Still, they cause harm short-term, both to us and potentially to US industries that rely on EU materials.

The next step is to talk with the US to see if they have a long-term plan or if this is just a short-term restriction.

This isn’t about confrontation — just ensuring clarity and exploring if there’s a way to make the situation better for both sides. If not, we move forward on our own terms.

Moving Forward Instead of Reacting

This is a simplification of a complex issue, but the goal is clarity, not overcomplication.

In IT, we improve systems to reduce impact from future failures. The same applies here. Instead of seeing tariffs as a threat, we should treat them as a stress test — one that, if handled right, leaves the EU stronger, more independent, and more innovative.

A Note on This Post

This blog post was written with help from AI — not to generate content without thought, but to better express the ideas I wanted to get across.

  1. Statement by the European Commission on potential imposition of US tariffs on EU steel and aluminium ↩︎

  2. EU, Canada and Mexico condemn Trump move to hike steel and aluminium tariffs ↩︎

  3. Postmortem Culture: Learning from Failure, Google Site Reliability Engineering ↩︎

  4. Shift right to shift left ↩︎