Zanny Minton-Beddoes

But whereas with other countries, he and his team have been able to bully them into deals where they have agreed to pay tariffs on goods.

their exports to the US.

Because, for example, let's take the case of the European Union.

Very close to home here for me.

The EU did a deal with the United States, which essentially accepted

tariffs on European goods going into the United States and made all kinds of promises about investing in the United States.

And the reason that the Europeans went along with this is that they really, really need the U.S.

's support in NATO.

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.