By John Lamont MP
It's not often that the actions of the President of the United States have a direct impact on the Scottish Borders.
But that rare event happened recently when Donald Trump introduced a sweeping range of tariffs on countries all over the world.
However you feel about the President, the tariffs he has introduced will be damaging for businesses and economic growth.
There will be serious consequences for businesses in the Borders who export and sell their products abroad.
Sadly, the pain will also be felt beyond those businesses. It's likely that the costs for consumers will be felt on a whole range of products and the risk of recession could put jobs at risk and force people out of business.
It is terrible timing because in Scotland and across the whole UK, our economy is already faltering thanks to the policies of the new Labour government and the continued anti-business approach of the SNP.
Tariffs are simply a tax and in Scotland, we've already been paying higher taxes for many years because of the SNP. We've been contributing more than workers in the rest of the UK, but we're not seeing any better services as a result.
The new Labour government was supposed to deliver change, that's what was promised in the run up to last year's General Election. But they have sadly broken their promises on an industrial scale.
Despite saying they wouldn't raise taxes on working people, they have done just that by increasing National Insurance on businesses and introducing more taxes on farmers.
The recent spring statement from the Chancellor Rachel Reeves did not make things any better after her disastrous budget last year.
I have been inundated with messages from small businesses ever since that budget and they all say the same thing. The National Insurance rise means they will have to limit their operations, reduce working hours, scrap plans to hire more people and even, potentially, lay off staff. Tragically, some may even go out of business entirely.
The economic damage of that budget will continue for years to come. Labour must now take a different approach, instead of following the SNP way of raising taxes and limiting the potential of our economy.
It's basic common sense that, in the face of these new Trump tariffs, both of Scotland's governments must look to support economic growth by bringing bills down for workers and businesses.
