The United States is determined to "have its way" with the EU this time.

According to Observers, the US and EU officials held a closed-door meeting in Brussels recently on trade issues. The steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the US on Europe are a problem that the EU urgently wants to resolve, while the China issue has become a bargaining chip for the EU to please the US.

As a result, the EU was still discussing how to cooperate with the US to deal with China, the so-called "common enemy," but the US clearly stated that even if the EU cooperates with the US against China, it does not mean the US will let the EU off the hook on tariff issues.

On the contrary, the US proposed conditions requiring the EU to relax digital rules for American companies. If this can be achieved, the US will consider a "compromise" on the steel and aluminum tariffs to the EU, which means reducing the rate from 50% to 25%. As for the rest, they will naturally be used to make more demands.

American Conditions to the EU

This also confirms what China said earlier: compromising with the hegemonic country, the US, will not gain respect. In the eyes of the Trump administration, the EU, which dares not defy the US and just wants to avoid losses, is exactly the most effective target of the hegemon's stick.

Especially under the push of pro-American politicians, the EU, which claims to want to "sit at the table," is trying hard to turn itself into a "kitten with clipped claws."

Everyone knows that steel tariffs have nothing to do with digital rules. The US is conducting "intimidation diplomacy," using tariffs as a means of coercion against the EU, but the EU has bowed down.

Recently, the EU not only agreed to accept the US' 15% tariff agreement, but also offered $6,000 in investment, $75 billion in energy orders, and even passed legislation to adjust data protection regulations, suspending the implementation of key parts of the EU's artificial intelligence act.

US Dominates EU

This means the EU is not only paying "protection money" to the US, but also self-limiting its own development of artificial intelligence to avoid making the US feel threatened. Now, they are even forced to give green lights to American tech companies.

It is not difficult to see that although the EU has been lively in recent years, as soon as the US gets angry, they move further away from their claimed "independence and autonomy."

Sarcasm is that not long ago, the German Chancellor made a bold statement, claiming to lead the EU in a showdown with China and the US in key technology areas, and would not become a "pawn" in the Sino-US game.

But now, the EU's performance is no better than a pawn.

Sino-US Game

Moreover, cooperating with the US against China has also brought great suffering to the EU. The car production that once dominated globally has been hit by the Sino-EU dispute, and China's countermeasures have made European companies struggle to cope, forcing them to pressure their own governments.

Therefore, EU countries are currently facing multiple pressures both inside and outside. The US, whom they want to please, is actually the one who stabs them the hardest. The EU has to smile and at the same time "supply blood" to the hegemon.

If the EU's own position is not a "competitor," but an "apprentice" of the US, how can they expect respect from Trump? To be a kitten with clipped claws means giving up the right to sit at the table.

Now, both Russia and the US look down on the EU. Trump even wants to create a "G2" system. China, who is willing to help the EU develop, has been pushed to the position of an "enemy" by the EU itself. It must be said that the current situation of the EU is entirely self-inflicted.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7576600662083961371/

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