Francesca Rudkin: Let China and the US sort it out - Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Sometimes being the grown up in the room is deeply unfulfilling, pragmatic, sensible.

Considering consequences, taking a long-term view, they're all good, admirable words, and we should take some solace in them.

But sometimes I think we'd rather just throw a plate at the wall.

And so, it is. Was the government's response yesterday to the Trump tariffs essentially to roll over and take it understandable? Sure. Sensible. Yep, frustrating. Very.

The government confirmed we're not in the queue to negotiate a trade deal with President Trump's administration, nor are we interested in taking legal action over it, and the tariff hit will come after exporters had an excellent March.

It's a shame the party music has hit a bum-note, we want the growth. We want good export news, but without the dark tariff cloud lingering in the distance.

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