Europe should shamelessly exploit Trump's plight

Merkur Europe should shamelessly exploit Trump's plight Georg Anastasiadis • 2 hours • 2 minutes reading time China isn't backing down in the tariff war, but is keeping Trump squirming. This creates new risks for Europe. But there are also opportunities. A commentary by Georg Anastasiadis. Munich – Now it's cars too. As with tech imports, Donald Trump is meekly postponing the planned 25 percent tariffs on vehicle imports, much to Germany's relief. Every day, the US President backs down a little more. The reason: He has failed with his tariff blitzkrieg against China; instead of giving in, Beijing's regime is keeping him squirming. Trump's trade policy: Multi-front war threatens to completely outgrow the US President's head The blunt profit warning from America's AI icon Nvidia shocked Wall Street on Friday because it shows how much Trump's trade policy is damaging his own country. His popularity is plummeting, as is the dollar. Now he must ensure that his multi-front war doesn't completely get out of hand. That's why he's sending peace signals and suddenly praising the Europeans' prudence. Trump in Distress: Opportunities for the EU – Negotiation Window Wide Open This opens a negotiation window for the EU. Or more precisely: It's wide open. At the same time, China is courting the Europeans and presenting itself as a free trade champion, which in truth it never was. No one should be fooled by the trumpet calls from Beijing: China is not the reliable partner it claims to be. It has, and Trump is right about this, been using its non-freely tradeable and deliberately undervalued currency, the yuan, as a trade weapon against us for many years, trying to make Europe dependent on it, while, conversely, shielding its own market with high hurdles. And it is threatening Europe's security by supporting Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine in every conceivable way. With weapons, diplomatically, and, as there are now initial indications, with fighting soldiers. The EU should use Trump's plight to strike a deal with the US – and not throw itself into China's arms. China accounts for 30 percent of global production, but only 13 percent of consumption. Therefore, business associations in Germany rightly warn that China's charm offensive is actually aimed at flooding Europe with its products that it can no longer sell in the US. Instead of throwing itself into China's arms, as Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez just did in Beijing, Europe should try to exploit Trump's plight to strike a good deal between the EU and the US. Why not reduce tariffs to zero on both sides? If Trump wants to win the confrontation with China, he needs the Europeans just as urgently as Europe needs the US nuclear shield as protection against Putin.