Zanny Minton-Beddoes

They're worried that President Trump would no longer be committed to the NATO alliance or indeed might try and push a very pro-Russia peace in Ukraine.

And so

Where the US has clout in this administration is very effectively using it.

There's a phrase that I've heard used to describe this, which is that the US is monetizing its military and economic power.

And the way the Trump administration would describe it, they would say, look, the international system was essentially rigged against us.

And we are, you know, moving the goalposts more in America's direction.

We're getting a fairer deal for America.

But they make no apology about the fact that they are using America's power to push other countries to do something differently.

But I think in the case of China, it's proving hard to do because China also has power.

Yes, it is.

But I think to be fair to the administration, I think President Trump has identified something that he sees as an unfairness, which is that global drug companies sell their drugs more cheaply in other countries than they do in the United States.

The United States is the biggest market.

It's the place where the newest and best drugs come to market first.

But consumers pay more in the United States.

Whereas in somewhere like in the UK, where I'm from, where we have the National Health Service, the National Health Service drives a very hard bargain with drug companies and will only agree to buy drugs if they feel that they are not just effective, but also cost effective.

And so they end up forcing the drug companies to sell at a much cheaper price.

And

The Trump administration has basically said this is not fair on Americans.

We're being ripped off.

But the sort of remedy that he has proposed, as you've described, of tariffs is not one that is going to help this.