President Donald Trump held his first cabinet meeting of his second term Tuesday. He used the meeting to launch a new round of broadsides against European allies, declaring that“The EU was created to screw up the US” and threatening to impose tariffs of 25 per cent. On the Ukrainian issue, Donald Trump refused to provide security guarantees, saying the country’s security should be European. Faced with all-round threats and pressure from the United States, the European Union on the one hand said it would retaliate against the US tax increase, and on the other hand, EU leaders also urgently dispatched: European Commission President von der Leyen led a delegation to India on the 27th, it wants to strengthen economic ties with India. British Prime Minister Stamer flew to the United States on the 27th, hoping to persuade Donald Trump on the issue of Ukraine and tariffs, “Change of heart”, but most analysts believe that hope is slim. Under pressure from Donald Trump, European leaders spoke of“Solidarity” and“Independence from the US”. CDU leader Merz, who has just won German elections, travelled to Paris yesterday for talks with French President Maqueron. EU leaders will also hold a summit on Common European defence in London on Sunday. “The European times” said that the United States and Europe since the Second World War, Strong Alliance has collapsed. From Donald Trump to vice-president Vance, from US Defence Secretary to Secretary of State, the Europeans have been unceremoniously lectured in public on politics, economics, gangsterism and ideology. All this has sent a chill through Europe’s leaders as never before.
US to tax EU
Donald Trump made a public threat to European allies at the first cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. “To be honest, the EU was created to screw up the US, that’s what the EU is for and they’re doing a good job, but I’m the President Now,” Donald Trump said, “The situation in the EU is different from Canada. They take advantage of the US in different ways. They don’t accept our cars, they don’t accept our agricultural products, they reject [ US goods ] for all sorts of reasons, and we accept everything from them. We have a trade deficit of about $300BN with the EU.”
“We have made a decision and will announce it soon,” Donald Trump said of the plan to impose tariffs on the EU, which are generally 25 per cent and apply to cars and all other goods
President Donald Trump held his first cabinet meeting of his second term at the White House Tuesday. He threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on the EU at the meeting. (visual China)
According to Reuters, in response to Donald Trump’s tariff threat, the European Commission issued a statement on the same day saying that if Donald Trump imposes tariffs on EU goods, the EU will take retaliatory measures, “The EU will respond firmly and immediately to unjustified trade barriers.”.
However, the European Commission spokesman in the same day at a press conference to try to mitigate the risk of a possible trade war between Europe and the United States. “The European Union is the largest free market in the world,” he said. This is a boon for the United States. US companies are able to invest and generate significant revenues precisely because the EU is a large, business-friendly single market. We have to work together to preserve these opportunities for people and businesses on both sides, not against each other.”
Donald Trump’s comments raise the prospect of a transatlantic trade war that could damage both the US and European economies, according to the Financial Times, and do even more damage to strained diplomatic relations between the United States and Europe.
The website of the Centre for European reform, a think-tank, offers policy advice on how the EU should respond to American tariffs. On the one hand, says the think-tank, the EU needs credible retaliatory measures to force the US to the negotiating table to strike a deal. On the other hand, the EU should show its willingness to increase its purchases of US gas and defence equipment. The EU could also consider tweaking some politically charged tariffs, such as cutting the tariff on car imports from 10 per cent to the same 2.5 per cent as the US. Although the measures could be billed as a“Political victory” by Donald Trump, the EU could avoid a trade war with the US, the report said. In addition, the EU needs to diversify its exports away from the US, for example by ratifying Mercosur trade agreements and seeking closer ties with India.
India’s“Economic Times” 27, said European Commission President Jean-claude von der Leyen 27, led a number of EU commissioners began a two-day visit to India. The EU and India are seeking to strengthen trade ties amid looming us tariffs and uncertainty over global economic relations, the report said.
Hong Kong, “South China Morning Post” 27, said the European Commission commissioner in charge of Trade and economic security, etc. . This will be his first visit to Beijing since taking office. On a visit to Washington last week, he said the EU wanted a reciprocal trade deal with the Donald Trump administration and offered to co-operate with the US in tackling so-called“Chinese overcapacity”. With the transatlantic alliance in disarray, however, he may have a more positive agenda in China than his predecessors.
“There will be no security guarantees for Ukraine.”
“Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on the EU comes at a fragile time in US-EU relations,” said Le Monde, adding that European allies were more worried about the threat of tariffs, the Donald Trump administration has preferred Moscow to Kiev in its attempts to bring peace to the country. In his first cabinet meeting, Donald Trump also said the US“Will not provide security guarantees”, AFP reported. “We will ask Europe to do this because Europe is their immediate neighbour,” he said
“New York Times” 26, said that in the Draft U. S.-ukraine Mining Agreement, the United States only vaguely stated that“Ukraine to support the efforts to obtain the security needed for lasting peace. Reported that for the Donald Trump government, it only means that the French and British can send the so-called“Peacekeeping force” to Ukraine, but the United States will not intervene in this matter. Zelenskiy’s core demand was to secure security guarantees from Washington, the report said, while Donald Trump’s comments suggested little such support would be forthcoming. Mr Donald Trump’s attitude deepened European concerns and led Merz, the CDU leader and likely chancellor, to declare immediately after his victory that the country must seek to“Secede from the US”, the report said.
“It is urgent that Merz and Maqueron meet,” said Merz, who made his first overseas trip just three days after the election, in a sign that Transatlantic relations is deteriorating rapidly, it is urgent to restore the EU’s“Franco-german axis”. Deutsche Welle said Donald Trump made the surprise visit out of concern that he might strike a peace deal with Russia without European participation, discuss with Maqueron how Europe will respond to the reversal of American foreign policy and European security issues.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Stamer on the 27th to the United States, hoping to persuade Donald Trump“Change his mind.”. “Can Stamer bring Trump back to the West?” CNN CNN that the British prime minister had spent months carefully building a close relationship with Donald Trump, the visit to Washington is his biggest foreign policy challenge to date. At a crucial moment in the Ukrainian crisis, he sought to be a potential bridge — someone who could change Donald Trump’s confrontational tendencies and convey European anxieties. Stamer, however, may find his hopes very slim. Stamer will talk a lot about Britain’s“Special relationship” with the US, but it is getting bumpy. The report said the problems facing Stamer were clear — the visit was more important to him than to Donald Trump Donald Trump, who had turned his back on decades of American foreign policy and threatened to impose steep tariffs on Europeans. “This visit is a major test of the european-american relationship,” said Stamer’s former executive director for policy
How Europe will stand on its own feet
In spite of European attempts to make peace with the US, the Donald Trump administration appears to be turning a blind eye. US Secretary of State Rubio abruptly canceled a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Callas on Friday, Euronews.com reported. According to reports, Callas is in Washington the same day on an official visit to the United States, she plans to discuss the Ukrainian crisis and Transatlantic relations with the United States. In response to the cancellation, Callas’s spokesman said it was due to“Scheduling issues”. The spokesman also said Callas had changed his itinerary and would not meet Rubio during the visit. However, according to reports on the State Department website, Rubio 26 of the public agenda will not be included in the meeting with Callas agenda. “The Donald Trump administration doesn’t seem to miss an opportunity to show that for them the EU is not a player,” politico Europe quoted an EU diplomat as saying
European leaders will hold a joint defence summit in London on Sunday to discuss European security issues, Reuters reported Wednesday. Reports say Donald Trump is forcing a radical rethink on security, with European leaders having to spend more on defence and take responsibility for their own security. Sunday’s summit will take place after Stamer returns from crucial talks with Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday. European leaders, including Stamer, have held two emergency summits in Paris to discuss Ukraine and increased defence spending, but are divided over the idea of sending peacekeepers. The move comes as European leaders step up diplomatic efforts to show the United Front of unity.
According to the Economist, the Transatlantic relations has collapsed. The security architecture on which Europe has relied for generations no longer exists and is gone forever. Europeans are finally getting to grips with the gravity of the situation as they grapple with the unravelling of the continent’s postwar security order, the report said.
“European times” said that the face of qualitative changes in U. s.-european relations, Europe did not come up with an effective plan to deal with unity. In addition to chanting the old ways of strengthening support for Ukraine and increasing sanctions against Russia, European countries still have their own ideas on key issues such as establishing an independent European military and diplomatic framework, and it is difficult for them to form a joint force. On the issue of“Sending troops to keep the peace”, only Britain and Sweden have expressed their“Willingness”, while Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland have clearly opposed it. It remains to be seen what form Europe will take in its quest for independence and self-reliance.