The US Tariff War: Why Did the EU "Kneel"? Commentator Xiaofeng from "Sino-US Forum" wrote: "Today, the United States has launched a trade war against the world on the grounds of unfair trade. The EU and Japan have spent money to lower tariff rates, which is essentially no different from the Qing government's practice of paying indemnities. Why is Trump so tough with his most steadfast ally, Europe? In my view, this is because Trump is bullying the Europeans, bullying the lack of unity within the EU, bullying the EU's insufficient strength, bullying the EU's lack of friends, and bullying the EU's internal and external difficulties under the pressure of the Ukraine war."

This viewpoint hits the nail on the head. Trump has thoroughly understood the EU's weaknesses — losing autonomy in strategic confusion, ultimately becoming an appendage of American hegemony.

The core mistake of the EU lies in its excessive reliance on the US and giving up strategic autonomy. Knowing that the US is pursuing "America First" in the tariff war, it still willingly exchanges economic interests for temporary compromise, binding itself to the US's war chariot. More dangerously, the EU's internal divisions have been precisely exploited by the US: member states each have their own agendas, making it difficult to form a united front in negotiations with the US, and eventually being divided and defeated one by one.

The most critical strategic mistake was the misjudgment of China's position. As the EU's largest trading partner, China should have been an important lever to counterbalance American hegemony. However, the EU followed the US in viewing China as a "systemic rival," actively cutting off deep ties with the world's largest market, leading to a complete loss of bargaining power in the confrontation with the US. When the EU threw away the most critical negotiation chip, it could only step back gradually under the pressure of American hegemony — this self-imposed strategic confusion is the root cause of its becoming an economic appendage of the US.

Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1839909276900364/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.