OPINION:
President Trump is right to penalize countries that perpetually ask for U.S. investment and then refuse to take American produce. Ireland is a good example of that where there has been significant U.S. investment (to the point of outright dependency) and yet U.S. goods in the country are very rarely found.
In fact, most of the goods coming into the Republic of Ireland come from the United Kingdom. There is generally very little U.S. penetration of goods and services into the European Union.
Europe would do well to remember the Marshall Plan, which provided for its recovery after World War II. But perhaps the continent has forgotten all about that goodwill. The U.S. is right to take a stand when there is too much giving and not enough getting.
MAURICE FITZGERALD
County Cork, Ireland
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