Analysis: Could Trump intensify US influence on global trade?

US President Donald Trump has reshaped the global trading system. And he's just getting started.

Trump's "reciprocal" tariff regime took effect last week, cementing the new world order fueled by the long-held—and often questioned—aspiration to reorient seven decades of global trade.

But the days leading up to this moment offer a glimpse into a president who, aides told CNN International , is increasingly bold, confident and adamant in his belief that his unprecedented use of tariffs on, well, pretty much everything, hasn't brought any downside.

It's a view that corporate executives, foreign leaders and a sizable roster of economists would vehemently dispute, citing a host of warning signs in underlying economic data, earnings calls and geopolitical maneuvering.

Trump is unwavering and ready to aggressively expand his footprint on a new global trading system in the coming weeks .

"Tariffs are his Swiss Army knife - there is not a single issue that comes across his desk that cannot be resolved through them," a senior administration official told CNN International .

"I believe the experience of the past few months has proven this approach to be correct – and has likely turned the Swiss Army knife into a Swiss chainsaw."

Trump's reciprocal tariffs are already in place , as are burden-laden bilateral trade structures with countries that represent roughly 60 percent of global gross domestic product.

Tariffs on steel, aluminum , copper , automobiles, and auto parts are also in effect. Higher sectoral tariffs on semiconductors , pharmaceuticals, timber, critical minerals, aircraft, polysilicon, and trucks are in the works and are expected to be implemented in the coming weeks.

The exact dates appear to be entirely up to Trump and his trade teams.

The actual rates for these sectoral tariffs? The same, but by all accounts, they only increase weekly, with Trump recently setting the level for chips and semiconductors at "approximately 100%" and threatening up to 250% for pharmaceuticals.

The official was reporting the observation about Trump's universal use of tariffs intensified at roughly the same time the Swiss president, who had rushed to Washington in a last-ditch effort to avoid Trump's escalating new tariff rate on her country, was leaving the capital on Wednesday (6) without a deal.

It was a rather colorful – and revealing – coincidence.

Race to get a spot

World leaders and their trade teams rushed to strike deals to reduce the new tariffs, only to be rebuffed.

Business leaders or their well-paid guides in Washington insisted that there were clear opportunities to secure exemptions and exceptions, but they found there was no easy path.

"Trump is always listening, always accepting offers," said one lobbyist. "But yesterday's price isn't today's price, from what I can tell—he wants big numbers, big commitments, big demonstrations of success."

Hundreds of billions of dollars in corporate pledges and investment commitments have served as the most coveted elements of Trump's bilateral trade framework, officials say.

Trump specifically cited these commitments as a way for countries to "abate" threatened tariff rates.

Trump's advisers have formulated plans to use these commitments to shore up weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the U.S. supply chain.

The framework, while still a work in progress and subject to some disputes between the U.S. and its counterparts, serves as an innovative and certainly unprecedented vehicle for addressing national security concerns in critical industries and products, officials say.

Trump's view on investment commitments is framed somewhat differently.

"If you look at Japan, we're getting $550 billion, and that's like a signing bonus that a baseball player would get. They give a million-dollar signing bonus, or $2 million, or $20 million, or whatever they give today," Trump said this week on CNBC.

"So I got a $550 billion signing bonus from Japan. That's our money. It's our money to invest as we see fit."

In other words, Trump wants exactly what Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered in the Oval Office on Wednesday with the announcement of a new commitment to invest $100 billion in American jobs and suppliers.

The custom glass and 24-karat gold figurine Cook theatrically unveiled mid-announcement didn't hurt either.

Long-term exemption for Apple

Trump, just hours before appearing alongside Cook in the Oval Office, imposed 25 percent tariffs on India for its purchases of Russian energy.

That tariff, if it takes effect in three weeks, would raise U.S. tariffs on all imports from India to 50 percent — one of the highest levels worldwide .

The underlying reason for Trump's escalation, despite the pretext of depriving Putin's war machine of critical cash flow, was India's refusal to eliminate virtually all of its tariffs on US producers, several officials told CNN International .

Punitive tariffs on India, where Apple has a significant manufacturing presence, would seem like a big problem for a CEO like Cook.

However, White House officials made clear that, in the short term, existing exemptions on specific technology products meant Apple would not be immediately affected.

Trump, in an unexpected announcement during the event, made clear that these exemptions would remain valid in the long term as well.

"We're going to impose a very high tariff on chips and semiconductors, but the good news for companies like Apple is that if you're building in the United States, or have committed to building, absolutely committed to building in the United States, there will be no tariff," Trump said.

Finalizing business

There is no shortage of questions about the final form of the trillions in investment commitments outlined in corporate pledges and commercial structures with foreign counterparties.

There is significant technical and legal work ahead on the bilateral agreements, which in many cases were reviewed and reshaped by Trump himself in Oval Office meetings and are now the subject of some disputes in foreign capitals.

But Trump's aides hardly seem concerned about his ability to finalize the terms in the coming months.

"The method to make countries and companies in those countries comply with their commitments is, of course, tariffs," the senior administration official said.