Posted on 05/24/2025 11:31:31 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
The Trump administration sees tariff talks as a chance to pressure a rival into concessions. E.U. officials have acted as though they were dealing with an ally.
The European Union has been following tried-and-true rules of global commerce as it tries to negotiate with the Trump administration to avert painful tariffs on cars, pharmaceuticals and just about everything else.
The problem? President Trump is ripping up that rule book.
Mr. Trump announced in a Truth Social post on Friday morning that he is recommending a 50 percent tariff on European imports as of June 1, claiming that the bloc’s trade barriers, taxes, corporate penalties and other policies had contributed to a trade imbalance with the United States that was “totally unacceptable.”
“The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with,” Mr. Trump wrote, adding, “Our discussions with them are going nowhere!”
The surprise announcement comes after months of back-and-forth talks between the two enormous economies that have made, as Mr. Trump suggested, limited headway.
European officials have approached negotiations as though they are reasoning with an ally. But they have met with a Trump administration that sees this less as a chance for two geopolitical friends to seek a mutually beneficial solution — and rather as an opportunity to pressure a commercial rival into making concessions.
Mr. Trump has imposed round after round of tariffs on the 27-nation economic bloc and the world since taking office in January. He has hit sectors like steel and aluminum and cars with specific tariffs, while also threatening to place higher across-the-board levies...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Not quite. They despise Trump.
The experts at the NYT weigh in. Right...
These NYT folks just don’t get it - of course Trump is tearing up the book. It’s what we elected him to do. He is not a politician, he’s a doer and conducts government and foreign affairs like he did his businesses.
NYT “Europe GOOD, Trump EVIL” News at 11
The EU, if it is an ally, has never really behaved like an ally.
It has always behaved like it was a spoiled brat with no responsibilities for itself or its “allies.”
Our economic policy since 1946 has been to support foreign policy, not to increase economic activity in the United States.
80 years later it’s time to change. It should have changed in 1992.
Ross Perot and Pat Buchannan tried to point this out and were ridiculed into the political wilderness.
The Times are globalists. In addition to hating Trump, the children at the Times have no idea of the concept of leverage and how it works in private sector negotiations. They think it is all about the other side ending up liking the side with leverage and that the strong leverage side should cede their leverage and walk away with nothing so the other side gets what they want and still likes them but never respects or fears them.
Europe has been schtupping the U.S. for 80 years. President Trump works towards an equitable trade relationship and The New York Times becomes CONCERNED.
What “book?”.The one that says USA pays, always? Bbaaawwwaaaahhh
The NYTs is such a trash, untruthful publication. Of course Trump is not following the “rule book”. Why should he. The rule book is why we have such negative trade balances with those in Europe who are supposed to be out allies. Those are the same people that have taken advantage of us when it comes to defense by not paying their fair share of NATO until Trump tore up that “rule book” and demanded they start paying or not be defended by the US. Seemed to have worked, but of course the NYT also thought that was bad. POSs
> tried-and-true rules of global commerce...
i.e. the US gets screwed.
It works like this. You put tariffs on our stuff and close your markets, we do the same.
Not, you get to dump your shoddy goods made with off shore slave labor on our markets while keeping yours closed.
They despise, not just Trump, but Americans in general.
Too bad they don't despise the US dollar.
The liars club that is modern journalism awarded fellow liars at the slimes with a Pulitzer Prize for lying to the American public for years about Russia, Russia, Russia lies.
Their own book....not ours.
bump
Doesn’t Europe have a similar population, modern societies, and they refuse to defend themselves.
Don’t even have enough troops to put a small peacekeeping force in Jkraine.
And then lecture us about foreign policy.
Pretty sure that in all history, no European country ever came here to fight with us.
The French helped us achieve independence but didn’t fight with us.
Before that the French raided us with Indians.
British invaded us.
We had to fight Spain.
And Germany twice.
And hold off Russia.
Yeah, Europes been negotiating by the book, the problem is that the titlenofnthe book they are using is “F**k America”
Yeah, Europes been negotiating by the book, the problem is that the title of the book they are using is “F**k America”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.