Higher US tariffs ‘dark day’ for EU, says France
BRUSSELS—France’s prime minister described it as a “dark day” for the European Union, a “submission” to US tariff demands. Commentators said EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen’s handshake with President Donald Trump amounted to capitulation.
The trouble is, Europe depends mightily on the United States, and not just for trade.
Mirroring Trump, Von der Leyen gushed that the arrangement she endorsed over the weekend to set US tariff levels on most European exports to 15 percent, which is 10 percent higher than currently, was “huge.” Her staff texted reporters insisting that the pact, which starts to enter force on Friday, is the “biggest trade deal ever.”
A month after Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte ingratiated himself with Trump by referring to him as “daddy,” the Europeans had again conceded that swallowing the costs and praising an unpredictable president is more palatable than losing America.
‘Not only about trade’
“It’s not only about the trade. It’s about security. It’s about Ukraine. It’s about current geopolitical volatility. I cannot go into all the details,” EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told reporters on Monday.
“I can assure you it was not only about the trade,” he insisted, a day after “the deal” was sealed in an hourlong meeting once Trump finished playing a round of golf with his son at the course he owns in Scotland.
Indeed, Europe depends on the United States for its security and that security is anything but a game, especially since Russia invaded Ukraine. US allies are convinced that, should he win, President Vladimir Putin is likely to take aim at one of them next.
About Ukraine, too
So high are these fears that European countries are buying US weapons to help Ukraine to defend itself. Some are prepared to send their own air defense systems and replace them with US equipment, once it can be delivered.
“We’re going to be sending now military equipment and other equipment to Nato, and they’ll be doing what they want, but I guess it’s for the most part working with Ukraine,” Trump said on Sunday, sounding ambivalent about America’s role in the alliance.
The Europeans also are wary about a US troop drawdown. Around 84,000 US personnel are based in Europe, and they guarantee Nato’s deterrent effect against an adversary like Russia.
EU dependence on US
Trump is slapping duties on America’s own Nato partners, ostensibly due to concerns about US security interests, using Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.
“The EU is in a difficult situation because we’re very dependent on the US for security,” said Niclas Poitiers at the Bruegel research institution in Brussels.
