Over the past few months, the Trump administration has intervened in European elections, threatened to seize Greenland, and imposed high tariffs on the EU. Now, it wants to talk with Europe about how to contain China.

At least, that was the message conveyed last week by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Benton. He said that the U.S. government will now turn to negotiating trade agreements with allies and then "address China as a group." Last weekend, Oren Cass, a leading figure of American right-wing populism, wrote an op-ed in the Financial Times urging Europe to join the U.S.-led trade bloc excluding China.

It is understandable for Europe to feel confused. EU officials told me that over the past few months, as they sought to avoid U.S. tariffs, they tried to discuss joint actions against China with the Trump administration but hit a brick wall. A senior EU official who recently met with several members of the Trump cabinet told me last month, "The Trump team showed no interest in discussing China-related issues with us."

Until recently, one of Brussels' biggest concerns was the possibility of a U.S.-China agreement that would leave Europe out, just like what happened during his first term when he reached the "Phase One" trade deal.

Now it looks unlikely that Washington and Beijing will ease tensions. Since Trump imposed additional tariffs on Chinese goods in early April, relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply, resulting in Beijing's tit-for-tat response and a sharp reduction in exchanges between the two countries.

It is against this backdrop that the Trump administration began talking about taking joint action with allies to counter China. Was this the goal from the beginning? If so, the Trump administration is shooting itself in the foot. Instead of laying the groundwork for a united front against China, Trump and his team spent the past few months pushing Europe into China's arms.

As the EU takes measures to guard against the chaos caused by Trump and Beijing cautiously responds to U.S. tariffs, the outline of a possible agreement between the EU and China is becoming clearer.

The Trump administration should offer Europe terms it cannot refuse. The White House could propose cutting transatlantic tariffs to zero - an idea already proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen - in exchange for Europe increasing its tariffs on China. If the U.S. continues to impose high tariffs on Europe, I believe the European Commission, EU member states, and the European industrial sector will not seriously consider the U.S. proposals regarding actions against China. Trump should meet with von der Leyen to demonstrate his seriousness about reaching an agreement. EU and U.S. officials say that since Trump took office at the White House, he has refused to engage in dialogue with von der Leyen.

Only if Trump eases his attacks on Europe can a transatlantic agreement on China possibly succeed. Otherwise, any agreement reached in the coming months may be between the EU and China, rather than the kind of agreement expected by the Trump team.

This article was published on the website of The Washington Post on April 16 under the original title "Trump Is Pushing Europe and China Into Each Other's Arms," written by Noah Barkin, a senior advisor at Rhodium Group.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7495307349708554767/

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