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Politico (12 May 2025)

Camille Gijs, Daniel Desrochers and Ari Hawkins

As U.S. President Donald Trump advances on trade deals with the U.K. and even with arch nemesis China, the European Union is being left out in the cold — laying bare the profound rupture between the once-close allies. 

Despite several attempts at negotiating with Washington to remove Trump’s tariffs on European goods, the European Commission, which handles trade policy on behalf of the EU’s 27 member countries, has yet to achieve a breakthrough.

Trump imposed a 10 percent baseline tariff in early April, along with 25 percent levies on cars and metals. If the two sides fail to reach a deal by early July, a higher tariff of 20 percent would kick in as Trump seeks to even out a transatlantic trade deficit, which he blames squarely on the EU.

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