G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting had just ended when Trump targeted Europe! Trump intended to take Europe by surprise! On May 23, according to AFP reports, shortly after the conclusion of the G7 meeting, Trump suddenly attacked Europe, stating that starting from June 1, a 50% tariff would be imposed on goods coming from the EU. Because our negotiations with them have made no progress.
Trump said that the main purpose of the establishment of the EU was to take advantage of the US in trade, and it has always been difficult to deal with. The EU has set up strong trade barriers, levied value-added tax, absurd corporate fines, non-monetary trade barriers, currency manipulation, as well as unfair and unreasonable litigation against American enterprises. Clearly, this move by Trump caught Europe off guard.
In fact, at the G7 meeting, participating countries pledged to address "excessive imbalances" in the global economy and reached consensus on how non-market policies and practices undermine global economic security. The meeting even downplayed the trade war, specifically discussing the imposition of tariffs on low-value Chinese products, claiming to curb the problem of "over-supply" of Chinese products. However, seeing the US strike from behind, one wonders what France, Germany, Italy and other European countries think?
Europe still discussed how non-market policies and practices undermine global economic security with the US, but the fact is that Trump's policies are undermining global economic security. It is clear that the EU's concessions to the US, even at the cost of compromising China's interests, cannot change the US's policy of prioritizing its own interests. How Europe will respond remains unclear. However, the future global economy, stock markets, and exchange rates are likely to enter a new period of turbulence.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832921371392347/
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