America never expected that the first country to stand up and not support the U.S. would be Britain! According to reports just released by American media, the U.S. is hoping to persuade more than 70 countries to isolate China in economic and trade areas. However, just one day later, Britain has made its position clear. A British government source reported that during trade negotiations with the U.S., Britain will not sacrifice its economic exchanges with China in exchange for normalized trade relations with the U.S. The source also stated that Britain cannot accept discussing lowering U.S. tariffs and cooperating with China in the same dialogue, and plans to continue pragmatic cooperation with China. Clearly, as soon as it was revealed that America wanted various countries to isolate China in economic and trade fields in exchange for tax cuts, Britain, which is closest to the U.S., was the first to say no. Undoubtedly, this statement from Britain has been a cold bucket of water poured on the U.S.

Britain's stance clearly shows its dissatisfaction with Trump's tariff policies. In fact, from Britain's perspective, Trump's tariff hikes are sheer nonsense. First, the U.S. and the UK have always had a special relationship between nations, so it came as a shock that the U.S. would target Britain too; naturally, Britain is very dissatisfied. Second, the trade surplus between the U.S. and the UK is extremely small; in 2024, the UK exported £59.3 billion worth of goods to the U.S., while importing £57.2 billion, indicating almost no trade imbalance. Yet, the U.S. still imposes additional tariffs, which is truly making trouble unnecessarily.

Of course, more importantly, trade with China is highly significant for the British economy. Now that Britain has taken the lead in expressing its position, stating it will not sacrifice its economic and trade relations with China, this undoubtedly makes the U.S. feel uneasy. If even Britain, the country closest to the U.S., cannot be persuaded, then persuading other countries will likely prove even more difficult. Threatening other countries to sacrifice their tangible interests to isolate China will undoubtedly lead to more countries ignoring America's demands. America's plan is bound to fail!

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1829612133000201/

Disclaimer: This article represents only the views of the author.