The impact close to home will be significant, with prices guaranteed to rise and growth set to slow. The game being played by Trump is designed to benefit big business and his billionaire backers, nobody else. Goodwood is home to the Rolls-Royce car factory, which employs thousands of people locally and is being specifically targeted with 25% tariffs. Ordinary people will suffer, our public services will suffer, and our manufacturing industry will suffer. In Chichester, our high street businesses, already struggling with Labour’s National Insurance hikes that came into effect last weekend, will be harmed further by rising prices and deepening uncertainty. We need to stand with our local businesses, on the high street and throughout our community, by buying local produce, goods and services wherever possible. We must end this trade war as swiftly as possible, which means standing firm with our allies against Donald Trump’s bullying. In response, the Prime Minister should bring together our Commonwealth and European partners in a coalition of the willing against Trump’s tariffs, using retaliatory tariffs where necessary, and signing new trade deals with each other wherever possible. However, the media has reported that the Prime Minister is instead considering cutting the Digital Services Tax to appease Trump. This would be an unforgivable move, leaving a £5 billion hole in the public finances, no doubt prompting further tax hikes. Instead, the Government should be increasing this tax and using the proceeds to fund proper mental health support for our young people. I’ve just finished reading Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams, a first-person account of one woman at the heart of Facebook in its formative years and decisions that have undoubtably harmed young people’s mental health, while shaping today’s world order. This has strengthened my resolve that social media giants should be the ones paying for the damage they have caused, and continue to cause, to our young people. This is an uncertain time, which will bring monumental challenges. The lying and bullying emanating from the White House, designed to serve the richest and most powerful in America, is a fight we cannot back down from. We must stand firm and stand with our closest allies.
