The trade deal on July 27 between America and the European Union was disastrous for Europe. The Financial Times described it as “the EU [succumbing] to Trump’s steamroller.” The deal sees the EU agree to a broad-based 15 per cent tariff on all goods exported to the US, except for steel and aluminium, which will see higher tariffs. The EU will also spend $250 billion (€214 billion) on American energy per year for the next three years. Europe also is dropping their own tariffs.
The deal is shockingly one-sided; the only thing the EU “got” was President Donald Trump not engaging in a trade war.
But while Commission President Ursula von der Leyen negotiated the deal, this truly is not her fault. The European Union is stuck in this situation – where they have to see NATO’s General Secretary (and former long-term Dutch prime minister) call Trump “Daddy” and then, weeks later, engage in a humiliating trade deal – because the EU is fundamentally not built for a multipolar world. Instead, it’s been stuck in what could be called its “Articles of Confederation” stage.
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