If there is one thing the EU knows about Donald Trump, it is that he loves tariffs. The incoming president has said “tariff” is “the most beautiful word in the dictionary” and has threatened to impose them on US allies around the world.
On the campaign trail he proposed tariffs of 10-20% on imports from all countries, with a 60% rate reserved for China. Once elected, he tweeted that the EU must buy more US oil and gas “otherwise it is TARIFFS all the way!!!” This week, he announced he would create an “external revenue service” on the day of his inauguration.
The European Commission, which leads on trade policy for the EU’s 27 member states, has been preparing for the next US president since last summer. Details of its response to potential tariffs are closely guarded though, and depend on what the volatile incoming president actually does.
Jesus christ did everyone in all of the trade ministries just all collectively forget the part of world history classes where every single teacher was like “tariffs are fucking stupid and don’t work because they just make normal people pay more”? Did fucking all of the “experts” just sleep through macroeconomics? Did they just decide to have a kegger but accidentally filled it with leaded gasoline? Seriously, what the actual fuck is happening? Is the world just becoming one giant fucking example of the Peter Principle?
definitely the way to go. Trump is not good with complexity. Got to keep it simple.
i wonder if the eu would ever come back to the table knowing w certainty that another trump is waiting in the american political wings from now on.
knowing that their people been propagandized similarly to americans makes me think that they will due to the profit motive.