US President Donald Trump,left,and Howard Lutnick,US commerce secretary last month.Credit:Bloomberg
Why the hysteria? When I started work as a young customs officer in the mid-60s,Australia,then a protectionist country,had tariffs designed to protect home industries. We were forever in court prosecuting importers who tried to beat the tariffs by mis-describing or undervaluing imported goods. For decades,Australians had put up with mostly inferior locally built cars until tariffs were eased and superior imported vehicles with more whistles and bells became cheaper and the norm. Customs prosecutions almost disappeared,except for illicit drug and firearms importations. Our three car manufacturers couldn’t compete and closed. Many jobs were lost. Sixty years on,Americans will be paying more for their imported goods,not Australians. Other markets will be found for our export goods and eventually Americans may revolt at the higher prices they will be paying for imported goods,particularly if the imported goods are superior and in demand. Meanwhile,perhaps the cream of our export goods will make their way onto our shelves. Imagine having prime steak that my nearly 80-year-old teeth could handle.David Sayers,Gwandalan
As is expected with the showman that is Donald Trump,he basks in taking the world stage to deliver his message with lots of photo ops and props. “Liberation Day” was no different. Like a bookie at a race meeting,knob-twirler Trump appeared brandishing boards fielding countries instead of horses against which was stamped their losing odds (America had already been declared the winner) including Heard Island,which is populated by penguins only. Russia was notably scratched. Absent the shrewd and calculating methods used by a bookie to determine the odds to reflect the balance of wagers,Trump preferred to “keep it simple” when setting his “reciprocal” extraction odds. But balance trade they will not and instead,they will trample the global free trade order in a one-horse race to the bottom.Mary Carde,Parrearra (Qld)
Credit:Alan Moir
There is a bizarre logical twist to the Trump trade balance related reciprocal tariff announcement. Countries with a US trade deficit,such as Australia,should be rewarded with a negative reciprocal tariff to encourage their exports. Don’t hold your breath.Peter Mills,Warrawee
Oscar Wilde,always worth listening toCredit:Roger Viollet via Getty Images
Tony Wright (“Value of a Wilde cynic”,April 4) observed that Oscar Wilde’s definition of a cynic by a character in his play Lady Windermere’s Fan as “A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing”,which fittingly applies to wealth-obsessed Trump. Another apt Trumpian portrayal from Wilde is the reflection by the eponymous fireworks character in his fairy-tale The Remarkable Rocket:“I like hearing myself talk. ... I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.”Paul Casey,Callala Bay
Is Australia going to allow Trump and his Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to get away with their outrageous claim that our biosecurity bans on US and other beef imports are just to stop American farmers selling here (“Lutnick calls Australian biosecurity rules ‘nonsense’,says Trump won’t back off”,smh.com.au,April 4)? These claims are so Trumpist:lie,and lie again,despite the facts. The fact is that our national herds are disease-free,protected by the biosecurity regime. If they weren’t,and some dodgy beef got in,our national herds would be devastated. Perhaps the US embassy ought to tell the Trumpists that,if they have the guts to do it. Not that they’d listen.James Mahoney,(ACT)
Trump’s tariffs make sense only if we see them as the death throes of a dying nation. His tariffs are violent movements that are going to hurt the US and everyone who cannot distance themselves from Trump’s denial of a lost cause. The best that can be hoped for is the rest of us learn to depend more on each other and less on the US.Mark Porter,New Lambton
Peter Dutton seems to overreact every time Trump makes some sort of announcement regarding Australia. The latest is to use Defence as a bargaining chip in negotiations regarding tariffs. Anthony Albanese,in contrast,is measured and calm while saying,I believe correctly,that he’s not going to respond to every comment from Trump. We know the problems the Coalition created in international relations last time it was in power and Dutton is showing no signs that it has learnt from past mistakes.Denis Goodwin,Dee Why
Steady on there,Mr Dutton. It’s time for cool heads to prevail. The government is right to play it cool and not retaliate. Our team in Washington has achieved the best result possible from the current uneducated president. It’s foolish to play the Defence card (as you propose). We need to remain friends with the US for when this crazy mob is kicked out following a possible US recession and a hostile reaction from the rest of the world. There is no need to make enemies:let’s manufacture the US goods we can’t buy elsewhere,and seek new markets with countries that have free trade policies.Brian McDonald,Willoughby
I can hear it,the last-minute pitch,and it’s tariffs,folks. Too many people have been taking advantage of our big,oops our small beautiful country for a long long time now and it’s going to change,it’s going to stop because they have been doing it for so long and getting away with it and things are going to change,Liberation Day is nigh and America,oops Australia will be great again just you wait.Julie Robinson,Cardiff
As a child,I had the interesting experience of attending primary school in Tallahassee,Florida for a year,so Donald Trump and his administration’s total ignorance regarding Norfolk,Heard and McDonald islands comes as no surprise to me. They must have had the same teacher as I did;the one who asked if I travelled from Australia to their great land by car.Elisabeth Goodsall,Wahroonga
Another thought ... all the tariff-targeted countries could call ourselves the Rest Of the World Group and offer to buy the US. We could even wear a special solidarity ROW cap. Logo ideas?Ellie Hallett,Middle Ridge (Qld)
Trump’s tariffs on Norfolk Island will be quickly dropped once word gets out about all the Christians there.Richard Murnane,Hornsby
Can we bid no Trumps?Viv Mackenzie,Port Hacking
Apart from my surprise that Barnaby Joyce was still part of the shadow cabinet at all (“Joyce,McKenzie jostle for bench space”,April 4),your article is a good reminder that despite dire warnings about Labor and the Greens,it’s the Liberals that can only ever govern with the support of a minor party.Colin Stokes,Camperdown
I am normally disparaging of three-time Nationals leader Joyce’s mangling of the English language. This is not so in relation to the creative compound noun “spivweasel” that Barnaby has reportedly used in referring to his party’s current leader.John Payne,Kelso
The question regularly posed by Peter Dutton,“Are you better off now or three years ago” (Letters,April 4),doesn’t take into account the fact that throughout COVID,governments doubled the New Start allowance,handed out regular $250 fuel vouchers along with other increased JobKeeper allowances to name but a few. These all made people feel better off,particularly when most people couldn’t spend money during the pandemic. Businesses felt better due to government grants which were not required to be repaid if not used for their designed purpose. Interest rates were at an all-time low,not due to government policy but as a result of the panic associated with COVID. Therefore,of course people felt like they had more money,but eventually,the largess had to be repaid,interest rates went up globally,in Australia,all but one of the interest rate increases was within one year of Labor taking office. Therefore,the question is not really valid and is designed to be misleading.Geoff Lindsay,Thurgoona
With an expected close election,no doubt we will start to hear made-up claims and statements about economic management,budget deficits,electricity costs and tax reform. And these statements come with no accountability. We have laws to cover false and misleading conduct by businesses,but there is no equivalence when it comes to political parties and voters. Lies,damned lies and statistics.Michael Blissenden,Dural
Credit:Matt Golding
The Coalition will search for waste among efficiency and excellence,such as the ABC. Dutton will besmirch the truth that the national broadcaster proffers. The ABC is the answer to the fake social media posts that disinform and inform Dutton’s preferred media posts.Anne Eagar,Epping
Recent political statements by political people would have us believe that being “woke” is a danger to society. The Cambridge Dictionary defines “woke” as having a special and proactive awareness of social problems such as racism and inequality. Webster’s Dictionary suggests that a woke person is aware and attentive to important facts and issues such as racial and social justice. I am proud to be considered woke and strongly believe an increase in wokeness is essential for a fair and just society.Ian Biddle,Windsor
A correspondent (Letters,April 4) referred to what he calls the “usual anti-Dutton tirade” and in the same letter,somewhat strangely,suggests we stop “shooting at minnows”. I can only infer from the tenor that the writer is a frustrated Coalition/Dutton supporter who now considers his own candidate for prime minister to be merely a “minnow”. Looks like poor old Peter Dutton really is losing the edge.Paul Barnes,Wollongong
I would suggest your correspondent’s “huge elephant of uncomfortable truth” in the room is climate change. How is the Coalition doing with that?Brenton McGeachie,Hackett (ACT)
I have to ask,are we really in “a cost of living crisis”? Does this emotive and overused phrase truly represent the situation we find ourselves in as money dries up for the essentials? I don’t see “for lease” signs populating our vast shopping centres or a paucity of holiday snaps on social media. Department stores seem to have no trouble flogging huge TV sets and innumerable kitchen accessories,and I rarely see an ageing motor vehicle. Let’s not forget those “inexpensive” tattoos. What we have,folks,is a cost of spending crisis.Bill Young,Killcare Heights
I must say no to cameras in the classroom (Letters,April 4). It is a question of privacy. Parents have to give permission for students to be photographed and it is also an invasion of privacy for the teacher. The issues are not caused by the teacher,but by aggressive,arrogant parents who think they can enter the child and teacher’s workplace without asking or being invited in. Remember these parents are also exposing well-behaved students of polite,reasonable parents to aggression and it can have quite an effect on the teacher and child. Schools have protocols in place for parents to speak to teachers,so better monitoring of who is on the grounds would be acceptable,but sadly that may mean more restrictions on how to enter a school. Put the cameras there. Make sure parents have to go through the right channels to see a teacher. Remember teachers and students have rights too and one is to not be abused at work.Augusta Monro,Dural
Always under watch?Credit:Sydney Morning Herald
Good idea having a CCTV camera in the classroom. The only problem is that the lens would likely be covered in spitballs.John Swanton,Coogee
I’d like to talk about the current situation in the aged care system,that of carer burnout. I am constantly reminded in my own situation,and from other carers that I speak with,that one of the main issues in caring for an older person is the lack of respite offered by the government. We carers are saving the taxpayers millions of dollars per annum by caring for our loved ones at home. The anomaly between funding under NDIS and aged care packages is grossly unfair. This situation can only worsen given the fact that our population is ageing.Philippa Reiss,Port Macquarie
I remember (Letters,April 4) the signs in the 1960s exhorting passengers to “Keep wholly within the car”,and wondering who this Wally was and why he was so intent on getting out.Matthew Stevens,Thornleigh
A “Red Rattler” departs Milsons Point to cross the Harbour Bridge in 2022 - running late again.Credit:Bianca De Marchi
Great to be reminded of the good old days of the daily commute from the outer western suburbs on the red rattlers and crowded trains. Don’t forget the smoke-filled carriages with all windows closed on cold winter days.Neville Pleffer,Rooty Hill
It will come as no surprise to you,gentle readers,that the big topic this week on the Letters page was politics. Now that the election campaigning is going full bore,there is no rest for politicians or voters. Letters are coming in thick and fast,including many from people who haven’t written for years.There was a lot of discussion about Opposition Leader Peter Dutton,who has yet to make any great positive impression on theHerald letter writers. Although he hasn’t mentioned his nuclear ideas much this week,they are still strongly in the readers’ minds. Every mention of any power source for the future brought in a flood of scathing letters tearing nuclear apart.The dislike of him was not confined to nuclear. Writers mocked Dutton for opening his campaign in a brewery,his attempt to portray himself as a friend to multiculturalism by eating yum cha and visiting a mosque,his attempt to raise the country against the woke,his promises of fiddling with the ABC and,most of all,his plans to live in Kirribilli House with nice Sydney Harbour views rather than the Lodge (and his assumption that he’ll get the choice). Fellow Liberal Angus Taylor hasn’t earned much support either.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hasn’t drawn nearly so much correspondence,or ire. Most writers seem content to let him potter along to the election. He has his detractors,of course,but nowhere near as many as Dutton.In other areas,Jenna Price’s animadversions about how aggressive parents are spoiling schools for everyone drew a lot of support. Tasmanian farmed salmon was on the nose,with writers discussing the best ways to avoid it. There were also small side trips for the most annoying sounds made by other people,and whether EVs are worth the trouble.The rest of the week was about Donald Trump and his manifold transgressions and mighty sins,which include his plans for Greenland,Ukraine and tariffs,although many writers look forward to previously exported Australian meat staying home and coming down in price. There’s always a silver membrane lining.
Harriet Veitch,acting letters editor