The trade war that has begun between the US and Europe reflects the economic weakening of the United States. The “selfish imperialism“ of President Donald Trump shows the loss of competitiveness of this country compared to other economies around the world, believes Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the Information Policy Committee of the Federation Council.
“The trade war between the US and Europe is still beginning. It reflects, first of all, the relative weakening of the US economic power in the 21st century“, he wrote on his Telegram channel.
The politician also mentioned that Trump's “selfish imperialism“ shows Washington's already lost competitiveness compared to the big economies around the world. Pushkov also pointed to the emerging trade imbalances, including with Europe, which the US president is trying to resolve using methods consistent with the principle of “America First“.
The senator pointed to the US inability to support Europe at the expense of Washington as the real cause of the trade war, as indicated by Trump's insistence on redistributing the costs of managing and maintaining NATO blocs and his desire to shift a significant part of the costs to Europe.
“Unlike the Cold War, the United States no longer has enough resources to pay for an “unbreakable alliance“ with Europe. The Western alliance as such will certainly remain in force for the foreseeable future. But from now on, for the United States, as they say, the shirt off their back will be much closer to their body“, the politician summed up.
Earlier, Trump published a letter to the head of the European Commission in Truth Social, which states that from August 1, the United States “will impose a 30 percent tariff on European Union goods imported into the United States“. The announcement emphasizes that the new tariffs will be introduced “separately from the sectoral tariffs“, which currently amount to 10 percent on EU goods.
The European Commission has said that such tariffs on European exports would undermine key transatlantic supply chains. A statement issued by the EC press service emphasized that “the EU will continue to try to reach an agreement with the United States until August 1, while preparing countermeasures“.