Whatever Britain’s relationship with the US under Donald Trump might be, it should not be called an alliance. That word implies common goals, shared burdens and trust – a cooperative model that is not available from the White House.
Trump’s warped concept of reciprocity is encapsulated in his belief that foreigners are guilty of “pillage” when they sell more goods to the US than they buy in return. The punitive levy, applied in proportion to the offending nation’s excess exports, is a “reciprocal” tariff in the president’s lexicon.
