The EU wants it, but the US refuses to give it! Von der Leyen is furious and makes a tough threat.

After imposing tariffs, they were suspended, and then became exemptions. Trump's series of major moves have shocked the world. However, if you think this will make the US completely give in, you are wrong.

Of course, the EU also thinks so. Who would have thought that after a two-hour talk, the US still refused to lower the tariffs. Von der Leyen threatened, "If no agreement is reached, we will impose additional taxes on American digital technology companies!"

(EU official Sefcovic held talks with the US, but after two hours, there was still no progress)

1. After two hours of talks, the tariffs were still not reduced

According to information revealed by Bloomberg, EU Trade Affairs Chief Sefcovic and US Commerce Secretary Rutenberg held a two-hour meeting to discuss mainly the cancellation of so-called reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US as well as steel, aluminum, and auto tariffs.

However, until the end of the meeting, the differences between both sides still existed, and no substantial progress was made on how to mutually exempt industrial product tariffs.

The Trump administration clearly stated that it does not plan to cancel most of the tariffs imposed on the EU. This includes certain reciprocal tariffs that are scheduled to decrease from 20% to 10% within 90 days, as well as additional tariffs set for key industries such as autos and metals.

In fact, Sefcovic's demands were clearly defined: Europe hopes to see a more fair and open trade environment, hoping that the US will ease its high tariff barriers.

However, the US side chose to remain silent and did not respond to his specific demands. This ambiguity left the EU confused about how to proceed next.

In response, EU Trade Affairs spokesperson Gill angrily stated that it was necessary to understand more clearly what the US side expects to achieve, while calling on the US to clarify its position, as successful negotiations should be mutual, benefiting both parties. Unexpectedly, the White House and the US Department of Commerce also refused to respond.

(Since Trump took office, he has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with Europe)

2. The deep meaning behind the US words, which the EU didn't understand

In fact, all this is because the EU didn't understand the deep meaning behind the US words.

To put it bluntly, in today's global political landscape, the challenges facing EU countries vary greatly, and the Trump administration seems to be well aware of this. Its team attempts to create divisions internally by implementing unified tariff policies, so that it can apply more favorable conditions when negotiating separately with different countries.

This is vividly demonstrated in Trump's interactions with Vice President Vance.

When Trump declared his intention to annex Greenland into the US, Vance was the first to support him and personally inspected the area to demonstrate his absolute loyalty to Trump's strategic vision; Trump's cold attitude toward Ukrainian leader Zelensky was also met with fierce opposition from Vance, leading to a heated argument.

All these signs indicate that Trump harbors resentment toward Europe, and not only that, the entire Trump administration team conveys a sense of dissatisfaction with Europe. They generally believe that European countries enjoy the protection of the US without providing corresponding returns.

(Since Trump took office, he has repeatedly courted Russia and bypassed Europe to talk to Putin, but Europe still holds illusions)

3. A series of changes in the US strategic goals

Especially against the backdrop of severe inflation in the US.

In the eyes of US politicians, it seems that only by "slaughtering" some heavyweight economies can their own crisis be alleviated. Many people believe that the so-called "big prey" is obviously the second-largest economy in the world, China.

However, experience shows that the US attempts to exploit China's wealth have all ended in failure.

In such a predicament, the US adjusted its strategy, turning its attention to Russia, attempting to resolve its own problems through division and weakening. This is at the core of Biden's policy. He tried to trigger the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to reconfigure Russia's resources, and the results have already become apparent.

Therefore, after Trump returned to politics, the first thing he did was adjust the strategy: courting Russia, alienating China-Russia relations, while targeting Europe.

It can be foreseen that the US crackdown on Europe will not be limited to finance, energy, and manufacturing, but may penetrate deeper into areas such as technology and foreign policy. More importantly, once the US and Europe completely break ties, the former may have more options available.

(The US proposed a series of demands to the EU, including increasing the purchase of liquefied natural gas, and Von der Leyen also issued a warning, threatening to impose additional taxes on tech giants)

4. The EU fights back!

This is why these things happened now:

Trump pressured Europe to increase its purchases of US liquefied natural gas;

He criticized the EU for setting obstacles in the automotive and agricultural trade, especially disliking the EU's policy of excluding specific US chicken and beef;

According to sources, the US even hoped that European chemical enterprises could move more production lines to the US, which not only optimizes the supply chain structure but also paves the way for preferential procurement rights.

Seeing the change in the US attitude, European countries also understood.

Federica Mogherini, an important leader of the EU, clearly expressed dissatisfaction with the US's unilateral trade policy and warned that the EU might take retaliatory measures, including imposing additional taxes on US giants like Meta, Google, and digital technology companies, as well as using the "anti-coercion tool".

This strategy undoubtedly shows that the EU no longer wants to play a passive role, but instead tries to protect its own interests through strong economic means.

In short, there are no winners in a tariff war! This trade game has long exceeded the scope of economics and has become one of the important variables in the redistribution of the future world pattern.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493799083694490151/

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