The Week Evening Review
Tit-for-tat tariffs, Greenland at the polls, and United's big gamble

 
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION

Is retaliation the only answer to Trump's tariff war?

Donald Trump's worldwide tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the US have come into effect today: a 25% levy "with no exceptions or exemptions".

Following China's lead, the EU immediately imposed counter-tariffs but the UK – which exports about 200,000 tonnes of steel to the US every year – has held off on doing likewise, in hopes of negotiating a broader economic deal with the Trump administration. The government's no-counter-tariff stance is likely to meet with political pressure, as well as outcry from the struggling steel industry.

What did the commentators say?
The EU has "hit back hard", said Politico, and announced a "two-stage retaliation" targeting €26 billion (£22 billion) in US goods, starting in April. The bloc clearly "wants to send an unmistakable message that the EU is serious about defending its economic interests", said Politico.

The UK government's decision to forgo immediate retaliatory action is "not an effective negotiating position", said Daisy Cooper, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats. Britain is being "repeatedly kicked by the other side and doing nothing".

But Marco Forgione, director general of the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade, said the UK's "pragmatic" response leaves the door open for "positive negotiation, with the potential to secure a trade deal". By contrast, the EU's approach will simply "harm business and consumers".

If tit-for-tat tariffs do "ramp up", those in Europe will "suffer most", said Karen Karniol-Tambour, of investment management company Bridgewater Associates, in The New York Times. The EU's most important industries – cars, electrical equipment, appliances – are "exactly those where China has built the biggest advantages" and is "in position to grab the biggest piece" of any available "trade surplus pie".

What next?
The UK's business and trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said that the government will keep "all options on the table", and "won't hesitate to respond in the national interest".

And the European Commission has "left the door open to a deal with Trump", said Politico. It has said it "remains ready to work with the US administration to find a negotiated solution", adding that its measures "can be reversed at any time, should such a solution be found".

 
 
QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Around 20 people I know have been attacked. Lots of bleeding heads. My friend who is bald has got two scars from it."

Roy Lambden, one of the victims of a rogue hawk that is terrorising the residents of Flamstead, Hertfordshire, with "divebomb" attacks. The bird seems to select very particular targets: local police said all the reports they have received involved "tall men around the ages of 40 and 60".

 
 
THE EXPLAINER

Greenland's surprising election result

Greenland's centre-right opposition has won the most votes in an election overshadowed by Donald Trump's threat to take control of the island. With more than 90% of yesterday's ballots counted, the Demokraatit party was set for a "surprise" victory, whose consequences will spread far beyond the island's shores, said The Guardian.

What happened?
About 44,000 Greenlanders out of a population of 57,000 were eligible to vote to elect the territory's 31 MPs.

The most recent results put the Demokraatit party on nearly 30% of the vote, ahead of Naleraq on 25% and Prime Minister Mute B. Egede's Inuit Ataqatigiit party in third place, with just over 21%.

The Demokraatit leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, admitted he was surprised by his party's success. "We didn't expect the election to have this outcome; we're very happy," said the 33-year-old former badminton champion.

Why is it important?
The results suggest many Greenlanders "favour a slow and steady decoupling from Denmark", said The Times, and do not share Trump’s "outspoken desire for the world’s biggest island to immediately break from its current proprietor and become part of the United States".

Greenland has "managed to stay out of the limelight" until recently, said Sky News, but it's "now being interfered with" by the world's "most powerful man". The island "straddles strategic air and sea routes in the North Atlantic" and has "rich deposits" of the rare earth minerals used to make "everything from mobile phones to renewable energy technology", said The Associated Press.

Earlier this week, Trump told the US Congress that America needs Greenland for "national security" and, "one way or the other, we're gonna get it".

What happens now?
None of the parties is expected to win a majority of the 31 seats in parliament, so negotiations to form a coalition are expected over the coming days. Nielsen said his party is "open to talks with all parties" that are "seeking unity".

Naleraq had promised to hold a snap vote on independence within three to four years but other parties, including Demokraatit, have offered a more cautious approach, with no official timeline for independence.

 
 

Poll watch

A majority (53%) of NHS workers believe the Labour government is handling the health service "fairly badly" or "very badly", according to a survey of 1,012 employees. But Keir Starmer can derive some comfort from the fact that the previous Conservative government attracted even worse ratings, with 87% of those polled saying the Tories had done a poor job with the NHS.

 
 
TALKING POINT

Is 'New Trafford' the answer to Man United's woes?

Manchester United have unveiled plans for a new £2 billion stadium (pictured above) that will be "the Wembley of the North". The club claims the 100,000-seat stadium will pump £7.3 billion a year into the local economy, creating 92,000 jobs and more than 17,000 new homes. But Omar Berrada, United's chief executive, admitted that, with the team currently languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table and the club £1 billion in debt, the project was a "risk".

'Bust' by Christmas
"New Trafford" is the brainchild of Jim Ratcliffe, whose Ineos organisation took control of the Manchester United's sporting operations just over a year ago. There "have been highs" in Ratcliffe's reign, said The Athletic – United won the FA Cup last May – but there have also been "huge challenges", among them "a sacked manager, mass redundancies, fan protests and a team enduring its worst Premier League season".

Only this week, Radcliffe tried to justify cost-cutting measures by claiming the club was at risk of going "bust" by Christmas, but no evidence was produced to support his claims, said Barney Ronay in The Guardian. The 72-year-old petrochemicals billionaire is "one of the richest men in Britain" and could simply bail the club out but, instead, he's saying, "Go bust or do it my way," said Ronay. This is "basically a threat".

'Has to be matched by progress on the field'
Recent Premier League history has shown that a new stadium is far from a guarantee of footballing success. Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton have all made the move to a new ground, and found that the financial constraints severely hamper squad recruitment in subsequent years.

Indeed, for most clubs, "such an ambitious project would be a fiercely challenging prospect because of over-reach", said Simon Jordan in the Daily Mail. But even after a "decade of decay", United benefits from an "unsurpassed recognition" around the world. Ratcliffe will know that building a stadium "has to be matched by progress on the field" but, for Manchester United, "it's an opportunity". In fact, it could be a "vital game-changer for the whole club".

 
 

Good day 📺

… for minimalism, as Channel 5 rebrands itself as "5". Launched as Channel 5 in 1997, it was known as Five between 2002 and 2011, before reassuming its original name. The stripped-back rebrand of the linear TV channel will bring it into line with its streaming platform, My5.

 
 

Bad day 💰

… for plutocrats, as Bloomberg calculated that the tech moguls given prime spots at Donald Trump's inauguration have since lost more than $200 billion from their collective net worth. "First Buddy" Elon Musk's net worth dropped by $148 billion, while Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin and Mark Zuckerberg have also felt the impact of stock-market slides.

 
 
picture of the day

Flower shower

Widows in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, celebrate the Hindu festival of Holi by throwing flower petals in the Gopinath temple. Vrindavan has a large community of widows, who, in recent years, have begun to throw off a historical taboo barring them from participating in religious festivities. 

Amarjeet Kumar Singh / Anadolu / Getty Images

 
 
Puzzles

Test your general knowledge with The Week's daily crossword, part of our puzzles section, which also includes sudoku and codewords

 
 
THE WEEK RECOMMENDS

Horror films to look out for in 2025

With the likes of "Nosferatu" and "The Substance" featuring at the Oscars, the horror genre has "arguably never been in a better place", said Esquire. Here's our pick of films to have you shaking in your seat.

Heart Eyes
If you're after "squelchy, visceral gore", Josh Ruben's "exuberantly grisly horror-rom-com mash-up" (pictured above) goes above and beyond, said Wendy Ide in The Guardian. This "tremendously knowing, fun romp" follows a pair of work colleagues who find themselves the target of a masked killer who attacks happy couples each Valentine's Day. 
In cinemas now

Sinners
"Dark, provocative and full of secrets", Ryan Coogler's vampire thriller stars identical twins – both played by Michael B. Jordan – who return to their Mississippi home town following the murder of their mother, said ShortList. Little is known about the plot but with a "stellar cast" including Hailee Steinfeld and Jack O'Connell, this "blood-sucking horror" could be the year's best.
In cinemas 18 April

Final Destination: Bloodlines
Fourteen years after the fifth film in the franchise comes "Final Destination: Bloodlines" and the "gnarliest killing spree yet", said Empire. And, this time round, said ScreenRant, it appears Death is going after the family of survivors. Are these victims the children who should never have been born?
In cinemas 16 May

Frankenstein
Director Guillermo del Toro's long-awaited version of Mary Shelley's classic horror is finally being zapped into life. Oscar Isaac plays the hubristic scientist Victor Frankenstein, with Jacob Elordi as his monstrous creation – complete, said Variety, with "stitched-up grey skin and a glint of red in his eyes".
Expected release in November

 
 

Statistic of the day

128: The number of new moons discovered within Saturn's orbit, cementing the planet's status as the "moon king" of the solar system, with 274 moons in total. Jupiter held the title with its 95 moons until 2023, when astronomers identified 62 more moons to add to Saturn then-known total of 84. The new haul will go by letter and number designations until they are formally named.

 
 
instant opinion

Today's best commentary

Kyle Clifford's vengeful massacre shows lengths some men will go to in order to control women
Charlotte Proudman in The Mirror
The sentencing of Kyle Clifford for the brutal murders of Louise Hunt, her sister Hannah and their mother Carol, highlights the "grave dangers faced by women attempting to leave abusive relationships", writes campaigning barrister Charlotte Proudman. Clifford's "attempt to distort the narrative" shows how abusers subject women to victim-blaming, "even in death". We need "societal and systemic change" to protect the "most vulnerable".

How Labour can sidestep migration to beat Tories and Reform
Kitty Donaldson in The i Paper
A "fundamental question" is "whether migration is the massive ballot box-winner some strategists think it is", writes Kitty Donaldson. Arguments about migration are "conducted by megaphone" by politicians on the right, and Labour MPs are "wondering if they should get involved". Instead, they should let the Tories and Reform "slug it out like seaside puppets" because, for Labour to see a boost in the polls, it "really is all about the economy".

Vladimir Putin probably isn't laughing any more
Tim Collins in The Telegraph
Donald Trump's new "telegraphed threat" to Moscow is "agree to a ceasefire or the US will arm the Ukrainians to the hilt, and you will lose", writes Tim Collins.  So, "I doubt Vladimir Putin is smiling so broadly now". Trump "has his eyes set on a Nobel Peace Prize as his legacy", and the peace deals "on the table" in Ukraine and Gaza may not be "perfect" but "the killing and the dying will stop".

 
 
word of the day

Canadiano

As in, "I'll have a Canadiano with two sugars, please". Several Canadian cafés have embraced a patriotic alternative to the Americano, as part of a wider national movement to boycott US goods and "buy Canadian", in response to tariffs levied by their southern neighbour. Videos shared online have also shown shop owners removing US products, such as Jack Daniel's, from their shelves.

 
 

In the morning

Look out for Arion with the Morning Report, bringing you the news from overnight, as well as a closer look at the high-street bakery that has become a stand-in for gentrification.

Thanks for reading,
Rebecca

 
 

Evening Review was written and edited by Rebecca Messina, Jamie Timson, Harriet Marsden, Chas Newkey-Burden, Elliott Goat, Irenie Forshaw, Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, Helen Brown, Adrienne Wyper and Kari Wilkin, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly.

Image credits, from top: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images; Joe Raedle / Getty Images; Foster + Partners; Amarjeet Kumar Singh / Anadolu / Getty Images; Alamy / Pictorial Press Ltd