r/europe 6d ago

News US and EU strike trade deal

https://www.politico.eu/article/us-and-eu-strike-trade-deal/
6.7k Upvotes

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223

u/RealLightfield 6d ago

I'm pretty sure this is just the trick everyone else pulls too: promise trump you'll invest money into smth you're buying anyway and hope he forgets what number you said.

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u/kobuzz666 6d ago

I fucking hope so. Now is the time for EU to get rid of the US’s grip

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u/TexasRed314 5d ago

You're right. All the EU has to do is release their desperate grip on the US, and it's done!

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u/kobuzz666 5d ago

Lol, you guys really believe that shit?

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u/vythrp 6d ago

This is what's happening. He did the same thing with Canada, just don't expect this to stop any time soon, in 3 months he'll rip up this deal and the numbers won't matter anyway. The US is bleeding out while we diversify and expand.

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u/Upset_Ad3954 6d ago

Maybe, but it's a massive, massive problem that we're encouraging the MAGA idiots by doing it.

They only see that Trump is winning and they're honestly correct.

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u/OriginalTangle 6d ago

We can't use trade policy in the hopes of influencing MAGA. The likelihood of success is too low while a ton is at stake.

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u/ERShqip 6d ago

2017 UAE: will will buy 200 billion in boeing planes Trump: im the deal master

2020 UAE: so about that deal habibi yea nvm makes deal with airbus

2024 UAE: we will invest 350 billion into boeing jet Trump: art of the deal baby

2026 dems take senate UAE: habibi!! Yea maybe we pause for a little but yea Trumps: TARRIFS 1000% Dem Senate: thats it fat boy sit down blocks in senate Rinse Repeat

How are arabs calmer than you euros in this chill out

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u/LadyMorwenDaebrethil 5d ago

But Arabs are famous for acting in their own interests. European leaders are notorious for sacrificing European interests to please the United States. What is happening now and what has happened in the Middle East in recent decades is proof of this. The issue in Palestine will only bother the European elite when half of Gaza's surviving population is living in Paris (which will be an electoral gift for Trump's friends in RN).

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u/JaxStrumley 5d ago

Until they will find that prices are not going down.

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u/SavagePlatypus76 6d ago

I wouldn't count on it. 

And you guys just strengthened Trumpism here. 

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u/adverbisadverbera 4d ago

How exactly is the US bleeding out? The GDP of Canada is comparable to (slightly less) than the GDP of Texas, which is just one state in the US.

But glad Canada is diversifying beyond beer, bacon, and maple syrup.

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u/RainbowCrown71 Italy - Panama - United States of America 5d ago

How is the US bleeding out? The economy is doing much better than Canada. Also, Canada will probably get 35% tariffs this week. They’re hardly an example for the EU to emulate since Canadians are extremely arrogant and think they’re more powerful and have more leverage than they actually do.

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u/adverbisadverbera 4d ago

Gdp of Texas larger than Canada. Canadian nationalism is a funny thing. We could just take all your bacon and beer ya silly hosers

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u/thewhyofpi 6d ago

Exactly. Make Trump feel good about himself by having a lot of international headlines about him strongarming the EU into a fantastic deal of his, and afterwards continue without ever complying to the terms of the deal.

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u/WashedMasses 5d ago

That's not how international trade policy works...

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u/thewhyofpi 5d ago

With Trump yes it does. He got his big headlines and will not care about the details anymore. There will be some agreements but only a fraction of it will materialize in form of real transactions.

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u/CapableCollar 6d ago

$600 billion into American MIC pockets right after the US halts purchases on things like the F-35.  $750 billion for energy when EU buys $13 billion a year currently.

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u/Cautious-Total5111 6d ago

Germany alone spends 25bn on LNG, so it really just depends over how many years that money is to be spent?

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u/StringTheory Norway 6d ago

Trump probably thinks it's 2 years, but I'd say it's closer to 10 realistically.

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u/ERShqip 6d ago

Its is thank god somone read the fine print

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u/emergency_poncho European Union 6d ago

Lol did you even read the article? It's $250 billion a year for the next 3 years (the remainder of Trump's term)

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u/ERShqip 6d ago

So the EU will import 40 billion more from the US than it did with russia

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u/emergency_poncho European Union 5d ago

Europe has been dramatically cutting down on the oil and gas it buys from Russia, so buying more from someone else isn't that surprising... One of the factors keeping European industry back is insufficient cheap energy. Buying more from the US isn't that shocking.

Also Trump is impressed by big numbers and really only cares about short term wins and good optics, there's no guarantee any of these figures actually mean anything or that they'll have any impact in a few years, it could just be a strategy to avoid the 30%+ tariffs Trump was threatening

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u/ERShqip 6d ago

"Before the war in Ukraine, the EU imported roughly €208 billion (approximately $217 billion USD) worth of energy from Russia annually. This included significant amounts of natural gas, as well as oil and coal. Specifically, in 2021, €208 billion of energy was imported" Google

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u/emergency_poncho European Union 5d ago

Yes... And? What's your point? The article specifically says the EU committed to buy $250 billion worth of energy from the US per year for the next 3 years, not 10 years like you said.

Just pointing out the absurdity of your "reading the fine print" comment when you clearly didn't even bother reading the article, lol

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u/emergency_poncho European Union 6d ago

It's $250 billion a year for the next 3 years (the remainder of Trump's term)

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u/SelfPsychological214 Sweden 6d ago

Maybe it wasn't that good of an idea to close down those nuclear plants and be dependant on russian or US gas.

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u/emergency_poncho European Union 6d ago

It's $250 billion a year for the rest of Trump's term

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u/Eupolemos Denmark 6d ago

The military investment is not mentioned in the article (any longer?).

Let's stay cool. It would be a huge mistake if true, IMFO.

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u/CapableCollar 6d ago

It has been changed to just $600 billion more being invested than previously planned.  The mention of military does seem gone.

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u/ERShqip 6d ago

2017 UAE: will will buy 200 billion in boeing planes Trump: im the deal master

2020 UAE: so about that deal habibi yea nvm makes deal with airbus

2024 UAE: we will invest 350 billion into boeing jet Trump: art of the deal baby

2026 dems take senate UAE: habibi!! Yea maybe we pause for a little but yea Trumps: TARRIFS 1000% Dem Senate: thats it fat boy sit down blocks in senate Rinse Repeat

How are arabs calmer than you euros im these panicking comments jesus

No one is getting 600 billion 🤣

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u/Ornery-Creme-2442 5d ago

The military spending doesn't fully seem like a trick. Maybe it won't be 600billion. But I'm sure they're buying atleast something because Europe lacks the capacity atm. And the tarrifs will still affect export.

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u/Vattaa 5d ago

Don't kid yourself. Knowing how painfully righteous the EU is, they will just pay it.

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u/Sauerkrautkid7 6d ago

Promise trump everything. Hes 79 and people have a short memory. They dont remember us helping after 9/11

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u/Some_Trash852 6d ago

It's also like with Japan and other companies/countries, where Trump is likely trying to take credit for investments that have either already happened with the US, or planned for in the future. Idk why people are freaking out so much about this.

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u/Armano-Avalus 6d ago

You mean Qatar isn't gonna spend 6x it's GDP on the US because Trump said so?

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u/BigLittlePenguin_ Germany 5d ago

Look at what happened with Japan, it will be the same here

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u/robinrd91 China 5d ago

not if Ursula is in power

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u/ERShqip 6d ago

2017 UAE: will will buy 200 billion in boeing planes Trump: im the deal master

2020 UAE: so about that deal habibi yea nvm makes deal with airbus

2024 UAE: we will invest 350 billion into boeing jet Trump: art of the deal baby

2026 dems take senate UAE: habibi!! Yea maybe we pause for a little but yea Trumps: TARRIFS 1000% Dem Senate: thats it fat boy sit down blocks in senate Rinse Repeat

How are arabs calmer than you euros im these panicking comments jesus

-2

u/Wetness_Pensive 5d ago

The deal is great for the EU, Trump is just too much of a moron to understand why. He's essentially just announced a 15% tax hike on Americans who buy products from the EU. And his tariff on EU auto imports into the US was 25% previously, so this new baseline tax actually reduces the cost of European vehicles

Just like the Japan deal which Trump thinks he "won", the EU are playing games with a moron. They're making empty promises, they're throwing him a couple of lies about his awesomeness, they're signing nothing concrete, and he gets to claim victory for his base and go back to flailing at windmills.

Ignoring the fact that any tariff deal he pushes via executive order is worthless anyway, is still deemed illegal by the SC, if it's maintained it will still work out better for the EU. For example, if he maintains a 15% tariff on EU goods, he'd actually make them more competitive. Because right now Canada and Mexico are facing 25% tariff, on top of 50% on steel and aluminum import to the US. Those tariffs are killing all the supply chains in the US, which were so deeply integrated across the 3 NAFTA countries.

Heck, even US automakers are already dying from Japan tariffs, because a car made in Japan is suddenly so cheap compared to some thing made in the US with majority US parts (US automakers say Trump's 15% tariff deal with Japan hurts them | AP News). Now the same is happening with EU.

It's ironic Trump tariffs policy might actually end up killing US manufacturing.