Recently, Trump has frequently released good news: the U.S. has reached trade agreements with Japan, South Korea, and the European Union. Trump is doing this to boost his own morale and to pressure China. The real trade opponents of the U.S. are three — China, Japan, and Europe. Now that Trump has settled two, only China remains unagreed, so he applies pressure on us. From the information released by the U.S., the current situation is very favorable for the U.S. Today, I will focus on the trade agreement between the U.S. and the EU.

Trump meets von der Leyen, and the EU reaches an agreement to impose 15% tariffs. (Source: AP)

According to the "Mutual, Fair, and Balanced Trade Cooperation Agreement" reached between the U.S. and the EU, EU goods entering the U.S. market will face a 15% tariff, including automobiles and parts, medicines, and semiconductor products; steel, aluminum, copper, and other products from the EU will continue to be subject to a 50% industry-specific tariff. In addition, based on the annual investment of over $10 billion by EU companies in the U.S., they need to invest an additional $60 billion in the U.S.; by 2028, the EU also needs to purchase $75 billion worth of energy from the U.S. From these numbers, it seems that Trump has won, while Europe appears to have surrendered — the agreement signed by von der Leyen on behalf of Europe is clearly disadvantageous to Europe. If strictly implemented, as Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said, the new U.S.-EU trade agreement will direct investments toward the U.S. and increase the EU's dependence on U.S. energy exports, which could accelerate the deindustrialization process in Europe.

However, there is an uncertain issue at present — how the agreement will be implemented. Several countries in Europe have already criticized this agreement. The Prime Minister of France, Berlusconi, called it the "von der Leyen-Trump Agreement," and stated that the EU chose to submit, "that was a dark day." The reason for Berlusconi's criticism of the new U.S.-EU trade agreement is not hard to understand: just in the agricultural sector, although French agriculture has advantages, it cannot compete with the U.S. France imposes zero tariffs on U.S. agricultural imports, while the U.S. imposes a 15% tariff on French agricultural imports, making it difficult for French farmers to survive. At least in the area of agriculture, there are obstacles to implementing the agreement within the EU.

A vineyard in southern France. (Source: Internet)

Additionally, where will the $60 billion in additional investments to the U.S. come from? These are all issues. Therefore, I believe that although the U.S. and the EU have reached a trade agreement, its implementation will be very difficult. During Trump's first term, when he visited Saudi Arabia, he received a commitment of $35 billion in investments, but less than $1 billion was ultimately fulfilled. Isn't that funny? A few months ago, he visited Saudi Arabia again and received another commitment of $60 billion in investments, and we can wait and see how much will actually be fulfilled. In my opinion, the investment commitments in the U.S.-EU agreement are just numerical games, and most EU countries will not cooperate with Trump and von der Leyen.

(Source: Internet)

Therefore, I believe that Trump's trade agreement with the EU is merely a victory on paper, and it is far from a substantive victory.

Regardless of the final outcome, von der Leyen has indeed agreed to this agreement on behalf of the EU, adopting a very proper posture of submission. The relationship between the U.S. and Europe has always been unequal, with the U.S. as the "master" and Europe as the "servant." According to NATO Secretary General Rutte, the U.S. is the "father," and Europe is the "son."

(Source: AP)

Why has such an unequal relationship formed between the U.S. and Europe? Europe has proposed "strategic autonomy" for quite some time, yet why has it never been able to stand up to the U.S.? I believe the biggest reason is that Europe lacks unity. European unity was a dream for many Europeans, but reality is very harsh — Europe is more like a collection of small countries. When I attended the Berlin Forum, I found that many European leaders made grand speeches on stage. Later, the speech by the German Defense Minister shattered the Europeans' illusions. He said that many Europeans do not know their position when facing China and the U.S.; Europe consists of two types of countries, one being small countries, and the other being countries that do not realize they are small. This is the reality of Europe: a group of small countries that are not united and are easily manipulated by the U.S.

The direct reason for Europe's weak strategic autonomy is the tight control the U.S. currently exerts over Europe, with a considerable number of European politicians being propped up by the U.S., and there are many "Qin Hui"-like figures in Europe.

The lessons from Europe have proven that losing strategic autonomy and being disunited will eventually make it a vassal in the game of great powers. The current situation of Europe is truly regrettable.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7533507729354015232/

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