“Europe risks being drawn into trade wars with Washington and Beijing because of Trump”, – Macron

Europe risks being drawn into trade wars with both Washington and Beijing simultaneously due to the economic policies of President-elect Donald Trump.

This was stated by French President Emmanuel Macron, according to Bloomberg.

At a meeting of the European Competitiveness Council, Macron said that Europe is “clearly entering a world of tariff wars,” and that the U.S. president-elect could “disrupt the value chains between Europeans and Americans.”

Trump plans to impose tariffs of 10-20% on all imported goods and even higher tariffs on goods from China. According to Macron, Trump might tell Europeans, “If you don’t cooperate, we will impose tariffs on you.”

Meanwhile, Europe has already imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, and Beijing has responded with tariffs on European brandy.

According to Bild, the European Union plans to support Trump’s intentions to increase trade pressure on China. In return, Brussels hopes to strengthen its partnership with the U.S. in supporting Ukraine and increasing pressure on Russia.

This was reportedly the subject of a conversation between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump, according to the newspaper.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola believes it is essential to convey to Trump that a “win-win situation is possible” and that the U.S. would benefit more from cooperation than isolation.

However, Trump’s representatives have consistently stated their intention to shift more of the burden of supporting Kyiv onto the EU. Trump himself recently announced that ending the war in Ukraine would be his top priority.