Donald Trump’s expected foreign policy towards Europe during his second term will have far-reaching, and possibly, grave consequences.
At the end of last week, journalist Nicholas Vincour suggested that the decades-long close Europe-American relationship was about to be over, whoever won the White House. And that Europeans should worry less about the presidency and “more about how Europe can hack it alone on a dangerous global stage”. Yesterday’s dismissible cynicism over declining American commitment in Europe is today’s cautionary tale. But with Trump as president that concern deepens considerably, particularly over trade and defence.
In his first presidency Trump unleashed a battery of tariffs, tit for tats and trade wars with states, companies and regions including the EU. That trend is set to continue, if Trump’s campaign promises are to be believed, including imposing 10-20% tariffs on all imports, with a particular focus on key states such as Germany and key companies including Mercedes-Benz.
