Trump 2.0 raises uncomfortable policy questions for Europe.
US President Donald Trump speaks about AI infrastructure in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025 in Washington.
Carlos Baria | Reuters
US President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda raises uncomfortable questions for the European Union, although some lawmakers say Trump’s return to the White House could be a real opportunity for the 27 countries.
Trump’s new promisesGolden age“In her opening speech to the US on Monday, she repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on goods imported from the EU into the US.
“The European Union has been very, very bad for us,” Trump told reporters earlier in the week. So you are going to pay a tariff. It’s the only way… you’ll get justice.
His comments come as the new US administration plans to impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports, likely starting next month.
EU officials, who struggled with Trump’s confrontational style during his first four years in office, have suggested that his return to office could be positive for the union this time.
France’s foreign trade minister, Laurence Saint Martin, described Trump’s election as a real opportunity for Europe.
“We have to stick together, this is very important,” Saint-Martin told CNBC’s Dan Murphy at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference following the meeting of the Christian Democratic Union Party in Berlin on Monday, February 19, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“Europe is a very powerful continent in terms of industry, savings, purchasing power, the single market. So what we need now is to be more united and defend our values.” Saint Martin said.
“But don’t be naive, maybe there is a new world shape and business system for tomorrow, so we have to be ready to change, but first we have to be united,” he continued.
“You know, Donald Trump’s first term was a great opportunity for Europe to come together on defense… I think now is the time to be more united on industry and trade.”
Business leaders, meanwhile, expressed mixed feelings about Trump 2.0.
Richard Edelman, CEO of global communications firm Edelman, suggested that Trump’s return could be a “shot” for businesses, while ENG CEO Steven van Rijswyk told CNBC that the US president’s inauguration should be a “wake-up call for Europe”.
‘America first’ – and Europe second?
It is a transatlantic economic relationship. It is considered Sharing the world’s largest bilateral trade and investment relationship, the two economies are vital to Washington and Brussels.
Regarding Trump’s threat of tariffs, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said it was important for Europe to “take it one day at a time”.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb He was speaking on arrival at the NATO summit in Washington DC on July 10, 2024.
Andrew Harnick | Getty Images News | Getty Images
“In foreign policy, you always have to respond to a certain situation, especially when you come from a small state, and you understand that you’re working with the president of the greatest superpower in the world,” Stubb told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick at WEF Wednesday.
“Now I’m really comforted by the fact that Donald Trump wants the United States to stay and maintain its superpower position and for that you need allies, and I think those allies come from Europe,” Stubb said.
“So if I can simplify it a little bit, even though ‘America is first’, maybe Europe should be second, that’s great,” he added.
‘Zero Sum Profit’
Poland’s Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said on Wednesday that Europe’s “best answer” to tensions with the US is to restore competitiveness and strengthen the economy.
“We know how we’re going to do it, and we’re going to do it step by step,” Domansky told CNBC at the WEF annual meeting.
“Poland’s relationship with America is very, very good and as you said, we are buying a lot of American military equipment, tanks, fighter jets. You name it, we will buy it,” Domanski said.
“But as an EU, of course we remain united in our relationship with the US and we must,” he said.
Separately, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Wednesday that Spain’s and Europe’s focus is on how to strengthen the transatlantic relationship, warning that a potential trade war with the US is “zero sum gain”.
“We share a strong transatlantic link … our economies are very interconnected, and I believe that a trade war is not in the interest of either side, neither the US nor the European Union,” Sanchez told CNBC.
“A trade war is a form of zero-sum gain,” he added. “We need to focus on how to strengthen our transatlantic relationship, which is now more important than ever.”
— CNBC’s Holly Elliott contributed to this report.
