[Official] US announces new tariffs on most countries

If a party doesn't make any firm promises about the specifics of policy they will employ to achieve their goals, you can't accuse them of dishonesty for doing something they never claimed they were not going to do.
Some consistency please.
On the other hand, Trump promised to bring prices down and end the war in Ukraine from day one. Yet you don't seem concerned about these explicit failures to make good on his promises.
Hmm 🤔

Both of these statements are true.
But that does not alter the fact that the Government raised National Insurance, having stated in their manifesto that they would not. Thus they are in breach of a manifesto pledge.
Had they stated in the manifesto that they would not increase employee contributions then they would not be in breach of the pledge.

If a party doesn't make any firm promises of substance should it really be trusted with power?
The politician who is able to deliver on each and every campaign promise on day one is yet to be born. One must allow for a degree of rhetoric, provided that the policies are clear and that there are obvious steps being taken to implement them within a defined timescale.
On tariffs - as well as other "signature" issues - Mr Trump has moved with remarkable speed. His opponents would say he has been reckless. But, either way, he can hardly be accused of dragging his feet.

So you're saying they've not put in place tariff higher than the US as of March and aren't going to increase them further?

So the UK does not have a trade deficit?

Clever sleight of hand, but glad the evidence is on the thread.

Indeed it is. 😉

It definitely is shaking up the world economic order. Countries are waking up from their slumber after years of cheating the US.
I would have supported a comprehensive review by Starmer but we know he is not that type of guy.

We were discussing his aims, not whether he has yet been able to achieve them.
But you are essentially correct. What makes America great depends on which side of the political fence you stand on.

Oh yes, Lesotho has been cheating the US for years.
Poor ickle merika!
🤣

Read what I put in my comment. I am not defending that statement. I suggested that it was reprehensible. But so was the behaviour of Bill Clinton and JFK, much as I admired the political acumen of the latter.
That said, I have heard far worse in my time.
To suggest that Donald Trump is the only male politician in the history of the United States who ever talked that way flies in the face of what we know about human nature.

If a party doesn't make any firm promises of substance should it really be trusted with power?
The politician who is able to deliver on each and every campaign promise on day one is yet to be born. One must allow for a degree of rhetoric, provided that the policies are clear and that there are obvious steps being taken to implement them within a defined timescale.
On tariffs - as well as other "signature" issues - Mr Trump has moved with remarkable speed. His opponents would say he has been reckless. But, either way, he can hardly be accused of dragging his feet.

You have made a big argument about how bad it is to not make good on your promises in the early days of a government.
I guess that only applies to Labour, not to Trump. 🤔

European markets hold on to early gains and major Asian markets recover slightly following days of losses in the wake of Donald Trump's tariffs
The UK's FTSE 100 opens 1% up, with France's Cac 40 index up 1.8% and Germany's Dax opening 1.3% higher
China says it will "fight to the end" after Trump threatened to hit Beijing with an extra 50% tariff if it doesn't withdraw its retaliatory levy on Tuesday
Beijing's commerce ministry accuses the Trump administration of blackmail and says his tariffs are "a typical unilateral bullying practice"
The new tariffs could leave some US companies bringing in certain goods from China facing a 104% tax - here's a timeline of how the tit-for-tat tariffs have unfolded
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cp8vyy35g3mt

This is not the place to discuss the policies of the UK Labour Party, except to reiterate that you are attempting to draw a false comparison between two entirely different sets of circumstances. There are other threads dedicated to the policies and performance of the UK Government.
However, I am constrained to point out that you have - once again - either misunderstood or attempted to misrepresent what I wrote. My exact words were: "One must allow for a degree of rhetoric, provided that the policies are clear and that there are obvious steps being taken to implement them within a defined timescale." (Reply 180)
This thread is about President Trump's tariffs. He was abundantly clear before, during and after the election campaign about his intention to impose tariffs as and when he deemed it appropriate to do so. And so he has, within the first three months of taking office. I think most people, regardless of their opinion on the policy itself, would judge that to be an administration delivering on its election promises.

What we are now seeing are various nations, businesses and individuals scrambling to gain advantage over each other in a new economic order where the rules of the game have fundamentally changed. Meanwhile, speculators are having a field day, as they always do in times of market turbulence.
The emerging consensus, as former Conservative Chancellor Lord Lamont commented on a BBC radio broadcast yesterday, is that in future there will likely be "shorter supply chains" and more "regional" trade.
As I have been at pains to point out, an appreciation of the rationale behind the tariff policy is not confined to the hard-right, as so many of President Trump's opponents are inclined to believe. I noted another excellent Guardian article, written by Dr James Meadway of the Progressive Economy Forum, no ally of the Trump administration.
Here’s one key thing you should know about Trump’s shock to the world economy: it could work
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/07/donald-trump-world-economy-shock-us
"Perhaps the rolling market chaos will become too much. Perhaps the administration will blink first. There is no guarantee this extraordinary gamble will work, not even for those in the clique around Trump. But it would be a mistake to assume it cannot work – and however the pieces now land, they will not return to their old places."

Ok. Please link to those quotes by other presidents that are as "reprehensible" as "I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."
And there's the little matter of being a fraudster, sex attacker and adjudged rapist. How many other presidents does that apply to?
"I'm not defending Trump's behaviour, but..."
😂

Sorry, but you can't make one argument in one thread, then take the opposite position in another.
Some consistency please.

I can, and I do, because the circumstances are entirely different.
Put simply, the Trump administration made pledges on tariffs which are now being implemented. My critique of the UK Labour Party is that it (like the Conservative Party) intentionally hid from the electorate the unpalatable choices that it would need to make once in office, then compounded that dishonesty by making the wrong choices.
I could elaborate further but that would be to risk derailing this thread.