War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. George Orwell.

They say truth is the first casualty in war. When it comes to trade, truth has been missing in action for quite some time.

In his first week as the US President, Donald Trump tore up the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and threatened Mexico — via his press secretary Sean Spicer — with a 20 per cent border tax that would help pay for the wall along America's southern border.

His actions took many by surprise, including our own Government, despite his relentless campaigning on those very issues in the run-up to the US election.

Just hours after the Mexican border tax was announced, the new administration appeared to be on the back foot, hosing down the idea and describing it asa just one possible strategy.

Perhaps someone in the new administration twigged it might well be illegal under World Trade Organisation rules or that, ultimately, it would be US consumers that end up paying for the Mexican wall.

When it comes to muddled thinking and poor strategy, however, Mr Trump's decision to tear up the TPP was a bravura performance.

He has long railed against the influence of China, and vowed to counter its emerging regional dominance both as an economic and military superpower. What he failed to understand was the best way to achieve that would have been for America to ratify the TPP.

He was right to conclude the TPP was a sham. But not for the reasons he believes.

It was never about trade and certainly had nothing to do