A month after their trade deal with Trump, Europeans realize it resolves nothing
Decryption: The European Union has agreed to allow the American president to impose unilateral customs duties to secure the prospects of its industry. But with the former real estate magnate, this stability is illusory.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump in Turnberry, Scotland, on July 27, during the announcement of the European Union-US trade agreement. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP
It was the cruellest image of a deadly summer for the credibility of the European Union (EU) . On July 27, at the Trump Turnberry golf course in southern Scotland, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was finally received by the American president, who until then had not considered her a counterpart of his level. The fruit of four months of fierce trade negotiations between Washington and Brussels: 15% tariffs unilaterally imposed by the United States on products from the EU – without reciprocity – and hundreds of billions of euros in promises of investment from the Old Continent across the Atlantic. As a souvenir photo, the German woman's fixed smile, leaning into an uncomfortable position, her hand crushed in that of an impassive Trump, straight as an i, ostentatiously domineering. And this lunar exchange: "We know that you are a tough negotiator," flatters the president of the European executive, as if intimidated. "But just! " replies the former real estate magnate. "Even if it's less important."
This humiliating performance has drawn cries of outrage from most European observers. "This is not a 'deal' but an imposition ," fulminates Josep Borrell, the former head of EU diplomacy. "We arrived saying: 'We're here, where do we sign?' We didn't want to fight...
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