Media Says EU Accepted Trade Deal Out of Fear
(MENAFN) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reportedly accepted an imbalanced trade arrangement with the United States due to apprehension that Washington might curtail its military assistance to Ukraine or even remove American troops from European soil, according to a news outlet.
The newspaper recounted von der Leyen’s latest trip to President Donald Trump’s golf resort in Scotland, where she conceded to a 15% duty on the majority of EU exports.
The report described the deal as a “surrender.”
Initial plans within the European Commission had included a firm retaliatory strategy in response to Trump’s announcement in April of a proposed 20% tariff on European goods.
However, once Trump threatened to escalate the levy to 30%, von der Leyen reportedly backed down.
Her change in stance was influenced by “the fear that Trump might use a dispute as a pretext to cut US military support for Ukraine or otherwise damage European security,” the news outlet explained.
EU authorities were said to be particularly worried about the conclusions of an upcoming American “posture review,” which could potentially result in the redeployment of some of the 80,000 US troops currently stationed across the European continent.
The finalized trade pact, completed last week, not only imposes a 15% duty on EU exports but also binds Brussels to invest $600 billion in the American economy and to acquire $750 billion worth of US energy over the next three years.
By contrast, the United Kingdom, which negotiated independently, managed to obtain a more favorable 10% tariff on its exports.
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