Two months have passed since Trump's second term, and the financial hegemony that the United States has gradually established over nearly a century has never been as precarious as it is today.Bloomberg News analysis states that Trump's attacks on the Federal Reserve are further pushing the world away from the U.S.-led trajectory, as governments and investors are losing confidence in the dollar and U.S. Treasury bonds.The "Trump Trade" is actually "Selling America"Trump's recent fierce criticism of the Federal Reserve, especially his most explicit threat to fire Chairman Powell to date, has intensified the shockwaves caused by his trade wars with almost all countries. This has prompted a reassessment of the key assets that support America's economic dominance. The dollar and U.S. Treasury bonds, which were traditionally seen as "safe havens" during times of crisis, have suddenly become less attractive. Not long ago, investors were looking forward to the so-called "Trump Trade," essentially an accelerated hype of "American exceptionalism," but now it resembles more of a "Selling America Trade."This is just part of a broader and potentially more painful transformation. The role of American households as the "last buyers" in the global economy is now also being questioned.Governments and asset managers around the world find themselves in the same predicament: struggling to adapt to the new reality. "The global geopolitical power structure is being reshaped before our eyes," said Jens Weidmann, Chairman of Deutsche Bank and former President of the German central bank, last week. He stated that America's "excessive privilege"—a term created in Europe over half a century ago to describe the dollar's dominance—is "not set in stone."Complicating matters further, Trump is currently escalating his war of words with the Federal Reserve, demanding immediate interest rate cuts. Although Trump may not have the legal authority to fire Powell, the damage to investor confidence has already been done— the independence of the Federal Reserve, as part of the fundamental appeal of the U.S. market, along with broader trust in the rule of law, is being eroded.Barclays strategists wrote in a report on Monday that downgraded their dollar expectations:"While we still believe the likelihood of removing the Federal Reserve Chairman is low, the reality of declining Fed independence brings undeniable risks to the dollar."Enjoying the benefits of dollar hegemony without paying the priceOf course, the sheer size of the U.S. economy makes a rapid collapse unlikely, but the turmoil this month cannot simply be seen as an unintended side effect. Indeed, Trump has rolled back some tariff plans after market turmoil, but his administration has made it clear that it wants to push for radical changes in all aspects—on the grounds that other countries have been taking advantage of America's currency and consumers.For a long time, the U.S. has relied on a consumer-driven economy and the appeal of the dollar as the pillars of the global financial and trade system, enjoying various benefits widely regarded as such. Meanwhile, Trump and his team focus on the "costs" brought by these systems—including job losses and the decline of manufacturing, as well as the massive debts accumulated abroad.The U.S. relies on capital inflows to finance its fiscal and trade deficits. However, since April 2, the situation seems to have changed dramatically. On April 2, [according to CCTV News,](https://content-static.cctvnews.cctv.com/snow-book/index.html?The White House issued a statement saying that Trump will impose a 10% "baseline tariff" on all countries. From that moment on, capital no longer flowed into the United States, but rather seemed to be fleeing rapidly.According to estimates by Torsten Slok of Apollo Management, foreign investors hold U.S. assets including $19 trillion in U.S. stocks, $7 trillion in U.S. Treasury bonds, and $5 trillion in corporate bonds, accounting for 20% to 30% of the overall U.S. market. If these assets begin to be sold off, the consequences will be enormous.David Kelly, Chief Global Strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management in New York, said,"Think about the damage this sudden shift to highly protectionist policies does to America's reputation, and the resulting loss of confidence in U.S. policy, which lowers the prices people are willing to pay for U.S. assets."Stocks, Bonds, and Currency Under Pressure, Market Avoids U.S. AssetsIn the U.S., Trump's tariff policy has left consumers and businesses in a slump, with companies facing weakened demand, rising costs, and potential overseas retaliation seeing their stock prices hit hard. Since April 2, the S&P 500 index has fallen nearly 10%, with a market value evaporating by about $4.8 trillion.The Bloomberg Dollar Index has fallen more than 7% year-to-date, marking the worst annual start for the index since its inception in 2005. The most striking change has been the sharp decline in the U.S. Treasury market. U.S. Treasuries, backed by the federal government’s credit, typically serve as a "safe haven" during market turmoil.However, this month, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond saw its largest weekly increase in over 20 years. As an important benchmark for measuring financing costs from mortgages to corporate borrowing, the yield briefly approached 4.6%. Although the yield retreated after Trump scaled back some tariff plans—reportedly due to concerns over a bond market collapse—it has since climbed again as he intensified his attacks on the Federal Reserve.The decline of the dollar alongside rising Treasury yields has shocked some investors, as typically, the dollar and borrowing costs are positively correlated. However, this relationship has now weakened to its lowest level in nearly three years—indicating a general market avoidance of U.S. assets and skepticism towards traditional safe-haven instruments.Tracey Manzi, Senior Investment Strategist at Raymond James & Associates Inc., stated"The most surprising thing is that U.S. Treasury bonds and the dollar no longer play a safe-haven role as they used to. Clearly, the entire market has not reacted well to the tariff news."U.S. Credit Damaged, But Dollar Cannot Be Replaced in the Short TermThe U.S. has previously damaged its own credit multiple times—such as the shocking abandonment of the gold standard in 1971, or during the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis that triggered global financial turmoil—but ultimately managed to repair it.Nevertheless, confidence in the U.S. within the current financial community has been severely impacted, but there are currently no viable alternative options in the market.European assets seem to have gained some attractiveness, but they still cannot compare to the depth and liquidity of the nearly $29 trillion U.S. Treasury bond market.The dollar is involved in about 90% of foreign exchange transactions and accounts for nearly 60% of central bank reserves worldwide. It still has no real competitors globally: the euro still lacks the depth of debt instruments required for reserve assets and may not have established sufficiently strong political ties among the 20 member countries.For these reasons, any so-called institutional shift towards "de-dollarization" "may soon reach its limits," said Eswar Prasad, a professor at Cornell University and author of The Dollar Trap."Rebuilding the institutional framework and restoring foreign investors' trust in these institutions will be a long and arduous task—if this task is indeed to be undertaken. However, the fortunate thing for the U.S. is that, at present, no single country has enough strength to truly replace it in financial markets and currency."U.S. officials are calling for patience from the outside world as they await the full implementation of Trump's economic agenda. "We need to see the complete set of policies," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Bloomberg Television, pointing out that tax cuts and deregulation measures are about to be introduced.But this world may not be able to wait too long