Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments.
'Trump’s approach is clearly to divide and conquer...'
Donald Trump has potentially made a big mistake in implementing steep tariffs on goods from the majority of countries around the world.
Those countries will be making a bigger one if they retaliate unilaterally or try to cut themselves a special deal.
What is needed is a co-ordinated response, such as agreeing tariffs and other financial measures targeting the areas in which the US is most vulnerable.
At the same time, we must provide mutual assistance to protect areas in which the countries affected by the tariffs are vulnerable.
In this way it should be possible to ensure the implementation of the Trump measures on other countries would be suicidal, as it would result in a global retaliation that would cripple the US economy.
Trump’s approach is clearly to divide and conquer, so a united front must be the best counter.
It would be particularly concerning if the UK tried to secure a lower tariff by reducing taxes on US tech companies. This would be like giving preferential treatment to one’s blackmailer.
Some US tech giants (eg Elon Musk’s X) already have a malign influence on UK politics and culture, and this could only make matters worse.
It is no exaggeration to suggest such a deal would lead to the government’s downfall and victory for the ‘Make America Great Again’ clones and the Putin admirers of Reform UK. Paul Johnson, Ilford
America, the gated community?
‘Humans are flawed creatures, and so are utopias.’
Donald Trump appears to be setting a trend for countries being likened
to gated communities, cutting themselves off from the rest of the world. In the US we could see Stepford Wives-type women rearing six to eight Christian-indoctrinated children with no tolerance for single mothers, immigration, abortionists or free speech.
Yet this will not prevent natural disasters such as fires, floods, earthquakes and epidemics, nor the threat of nuclear war.
Humans are flawed creatures and, as history often reminds us, so are utopias. Maybe best to all stick together? Pauline, Huddersfield
Boycotting the USA
‘Enjoy your self inflicted isolation’
I apologise to all the pleasant and positive-thinking people in the
US but the response to Trump’s tariffs for me is simple: no purchases of US products (cheese, chicken, alcohol, motorcycles etc).
The rest of the planet didn’t vote for Trump, including the uninhabited Heard Island and McDonald Islands – which have been hit by ten per cent tariffs, making the penguins who live there miffed!
Enjoy your self-inflicted isolation. Martin Hodges, Stroud
Brexit’s silver lining?
‘Trump hit UK goods with tariffs – but the EU got it worse.’
Supporters of the EU often ask, ‘What benefits have we got from Brexit?’ Well, here’s one – president Trump has put a ten per cent tariff on UK goods and double that figure on all EU products. Will Podmore, London
What way will Farage turn?
‘is Farage a friend or a foe?’
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage enthusiastically campaigned for Trump during the US elections.
However, in the light of the latter’s aggressive and vindictive tariffs and the harm they will do to our country and others, is Farage a friend or a foe? Guy Wilkins, Kew
The real threat to national security
‘The climate crisis is the biggest threat’
Alf (MetroTalk, Wed) says national security should be prioritised ahead of climate crisis action and asks, ‘What’s the point of net zero when there’s a looming war in Europe?’
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What he doesn’t understand is that the climate crisis is the biggest threat to national security we’ve ever faced.
The famines, natural disasters and mass-migration will cause more and bloodier wars than we saw even in the first half of the 20th century unless we take urgent and massive action to mitigate climate change.
If we really care about our national security, averting a global climate meltdown must be front and centre of all our future plans.
Achieving net zero will do far more for our national security than oil and gas ever could. JWA Caley, St Pancras
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