Because of the Greenland issue, the US-EU trade war is suspected to be reignited. According to reports from CCTV News, Trump announced that he would impose an additional 15% tariff on eight European countries, and then increased it to 25% in June. As for how long this "tariff war" will last, Trump was very clear: until he secures Greenland. The Europeans are furious, and the European Parliament has stated that they will suspend the approval of the previously reached US-EU trade agreement, which could further provoke Trump's retaliation.

Repeatedly effective, Trump once again uses the tariff card

This time, the reason why Trump wants to impose tariffs on eight European countries is simple: they sent troops to Greenland to support Denmark and Greenland, giving the latter confidence and hindering Trump's plan to take over Greenland. However, slightly ironically, apart from Denmark, the number of troops sent by the other seven countries to Greenland is somewhat embarrassing. The most is France, with only 15 people, while others sent 1 or 2 soldiers, just like a past tourist trip. It is no wonder that Italy firmly refused to follow the troop deployment to Greenland, as going there would be a joke.

From a political perspective, these countries' symbolic troop deployments not only show support for Denmark but may also intend to use these soldiers as "hostages," preventing Trump from actually invading. Specifically, their plan is: if Trump isn't afraid of causing the U.S. diplomatic system to collapse, he can invade Greenland and capture NATO allies.

For Trump, since these countries are opposing him, he directly resorts to the "tariff" sword. In the past year, Trump found that "tariffs" are truly a "wonderful weapon," and many countries have been competing to send huge investments and lower tariffs on American goods. Last year, the EU canceled tariffs on U.S. industrial products and some agricultural products, plus a $60 billion investment, to obtain a 15% tariff treatment from the U.S. According to the tariff increase Trump has now proposed, except for the UK, the other seven countries will face a tariff rate of 25%, while the UK's tariff rate will reach 20%. By June, the UK's tariff rate is expected to reach 35%, and the tariff rate for the other seven countries will reach 40%, which basically means "going back to the days before liberation."

Trump increases tariffs again, previous US-EU talks may be in vain

Different from the previous trade war, this time Trump did not impose tariffs on the entire Europe. This move is not only to warn other countries not to follow the stance of these eight countries, but also to divide Europe and try to create a rift on the Greenland issue, making the EU difficult to maintain a unified position, ultimately forcing Denmark and its allies to face the pressure of U.S. negotiations alone. This is also Trump's usual tactic; he believes that the U.S. has an advantage in "one-on-one" negotiations and can easily force the other party to yield.

However, the UK's Guardian reported that European countries had been worried about angering Trump over the past few months and dared not express strong opposition on the Greenland issue. But when Trump once again issued tariff threats against NATO allies, it directly prompted the leaders of various countries to take a united stance.

Currently, many European parliamentarians have expressed their intention to suspend the approval of the trade agreement reached in July last year on January 21st. The first two major factions of the European Parliament, the European People's Party and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, have made the same statement, and another faction, "Renew Europe," has also announced it will join. This is likely to anger Trump, and he may further increase the tariff rates and impose taxes on all EU countries.

The Guardian believes that the European Parliament factions' decision to suspend the US-EU trade agreement is the most serious substantive confrontation between both sides since the signing of the tariff agreement.

The spark remains Greenland

Lin Xikang, an analyst from the Cato Institute in the United States, said that most European leaders used to believe that it was better to appease Trump through agreements rather than confront him. But now, they may feel that they were wrong, as this only makes them more vulnerable to Trump's manipulation. They may also retaliate strongly in the future.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7597068242695307822/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.