Last week, President Donald Trump announced a staggering 50 percent tariff on imports from the European Union, set to take effect on June 1, 2025 unless the bloc agrees to significant concessions aimed at rebalancing a trade deficit of more than $200 billion. Trump has now extended the deadline to July 9. Despite some differences on how best to respond to the proposed tariffs, the Continent is largely united around the belief that it is the target of an unprovoked and unjustified economic assault by the US president. The outgoing German economy minister went so far as to draw a comparison between the American tariff announcement and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But is Europe really the innocent victim it claims to be? Trump’s argument that the hollowing out of US manufacturing is entirely due to other countries “ripping off” America is deeply flawed because it lets American elites off the hook for their role in the decline of the nation’s industrial base. That said, when it comes to the European Union, there is a kernel of truth to Trump’s claim that the bloc has been engaging in “unfair” trading practices.