Bar removes US-made products in tariffs 'protest'

A bar in York has said it will remove all products of US origin from sale as an "act of protest" against tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

A universal 10% levy remains in place although a 90-day pause has been announced for nations hit by higher tariffs.

The team at Plonkers Wine Bar decided to take the action in response to "the ripping-up of global norms", according to owner Steve Wood.

He said products would be replaced by alternatives from other countries such as Canada and Italy, without the additional cost being passed on to customers.

Warnings of a global recession have intensified as a result of tariffs being imposed by Trump, although markets in Asia and Europe recovered following Wednesday's announcement of a pause.

Trump cited a "lack of respect" as he raised tariffs on goods from China to 125%, deepening a trade war.

Speaking to BBC Radio York, Mr Wood said the move was "as symbolic as anything".

"It makes a small impact from a financial perspective because we are replacing US goods with higher quality and higher cost replacements, and we're not charging the customer more," he said.

A post on the bar's Facebook page said: "It will take small acts of protest in every part of the world to confront these idiotic, pigheaded policies."

Mr Wood said the senior team at Plonkers spoke about the plan and decided "it was a stand that we all felt was right".

"Just about everybody is poorer today than we were two or three weeks ago," he added.

"People may not necessarily invest in the stock market, but you can bet your pension will be impacted."

He added that the response to the announcement had been "much more positive than I expected it would be".

President Trump argues that tariffs will boost US manufacturing and protect jobs, but the world economy has been thrown into chaos and prices are expected to rise for consumers.

He said tariffs would encourage US consumers to buy more American-made goods, increase the amount of tax raised and lead to huge levels of investment in the country.

Trump wants to reduce the gap between the value of goods the US buys from other countries and the value of those it sells to them. He argues that America has been taken advantage of by "cheaters" and "pillaged" by foreigners.

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