The ink has not dried on the US-China phase-one trade deal, and it already appears to be falling apart on multiple fronts. A multitude of experts warned over the past few months that this trade deal, hailed by US President Trump as a great success, is nothing more than a politically inspired act. It does nothing to alleviate global trade jitters, aside from calling for a truce in the mutual tariffs the two largest economies levied against one another. On the contrary, this trade deal may violate WTO rules and end up costing a lot more than it attempts to salvage.