France’s Prime Minister described it as a “Dark day” A “submission” of the US tariff requirements for the European Union. The commentators said that the head of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyens Handshake with the president Donald Trump the surrender.
The problem is Europe depends on the United States and not just for trade.
Mirroring Trump, from the Leyen Gushed that The arrangement At the weekend, she supported the US tariff levels at most European exports to 15%, which is 10% higher than at the moment, “huge”. Her employees wrote to reporters who insisted that the pact, who is strengthening strength on Friday, is the “biggest trading business of all time”.
A month later NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte interfered with Trump by describing himself as “Dad,” The Europeans had again admitted that swallowing the costs and praise of an unpredictable president is more tasty than losing America.
“It’s not just about the trade. It’s about security. It is about Ukraine. It’s about the current geopolitical volatility. I can’t go into all the details,” said the EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič on Monday.
“I can assure you that it was not just about the trade,” he insisted on the day after sealing a one -hour meeting when Trump had played a round of Golf with his son on the pitch he had in Scotland.
The safety dependency of Europe Europe
In fact, Europe is dependent on its security from the United States and this security is anything but a game, especially since Russia has entered Ukraine. US Allies are convinced that should win, President Vladimir Putin will probably be aimed next to one of them next.
As high, these fears are that European countries are Buy us weapons To help Ukraine defend themselves. Some are ready to send their own air defense systems and to replace them with us as soon as they can be delivered.
“We will now send military devices and other devices to NATO and you will do what you want, but I think it is mostly with Ukraine,” said Trump on Sunday and sounded about America’s role in the Allianz ambivalent.
The Europeans are also careful with a US troop drawdown, which the Pentagon is expected to announce until October. Around 84,000 US employees have based in Europe and guarantee NATO’s deterrent effects against an opponent like Russia.
At the same time, Trump beats the tasks on America’s own NATO partner, supposedly due to concerns about US security interestsWith § 232 of the Trade Experience Act, a logic appears that appears absurd by the Atlantic.
Starting from Europe from foreign suppliers
“The EU is in a difficult situation because we are very dependent on the United States,” said Niclas Poitiers from Bruegel Research Institution in Brussels. “Ukraine is a very large part of it, but in general our defense is signed by NATO.”
“I think there was no great willingness to choose a big struggle that (the EU) needed with the United States” in order to position itself better on the trade, said Poitiers of the Associated Press about the most important reasons for accepting the tariff requirements.
Part of the agreement includes an obligation to buy American oil and gas. In the course of The Russia-UkraineKliegIn its fourth year, most of the EU reduced its dependence on unreliable energy supply from Russia, but Hungary and Slovakia still have no.
“Purchase of US energy will diversify our sources of supply and contribute to the energy security of Europe. We will replace Russian gas and oil with considerable purchases from US LNG, oil and nuclear fuels,” said von der Leyen on Sunday in Scotland.
Especially Europe, when Europe is slowly getting out of Russian energy from Russian energy, also tries difficulties to end his confidence in the United States for their security. The Trump government has warned its Priorities are now elsewherein Asia, the Middle East and its own limits.
For this reason, the European allies approved NATO last month to spend hundreds of billions more for defense in the next decade. Especially for their own security, but also America in their ranks.
Diplomacy was not always elegant.
“Europe will pay to a large extent, as they should and it will be their victory.” Rutte wrote In a private SMS to Trump, which the US manager immediately published on social media.
Rutte wiped questions about the potential embarrassment or concern that Trump had broadcast it, and said: “I have absolutely no problems or problems with it because nothing was in it.”
A price that Europe believes is that it has to pay
The Leyen did not seem to be unnoticed in her meeting with Trump. She often stared at the floor or smiled politely. She didn’t refute Trump when he said that only America sends help in Gaza. The EU is the world’s largest aid for the Palestinians.
In view of the threat of Trump that 30% tariffs about European exports are difficult to say-and the art of brinking-and the view of a full-grown trade dispute, while the greatest war in Europe was raging for decades, 15% may have been a favorable price.
“With regard to the economic effects on the EU economy itself, it will be negative,” said Poitiers. “But it is not something that is to a comparable extent like the energy crisis after the Russian invasion in Ukraine or even the Covid.”
“This is a negative shock for our economy, but it is something that is very manageable,” he said.
It remains an open question of how long this duck will take.
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Mark Carlson in Brussels contributed to this report.
