The EU Folds: Brussels Signals Retreat in Face of Trump’s Trade Offensive 

EU offers Trump removal of all industrial tariffs

The European Union has blinked first in its brewing trade confrontation with Donald Trump, offering a “zero-for-zero” tariff agreement on industrial goods while scaling back planned retaliatory measures against Washington’s steel and aluminium duties. 

Following Monday’s emergency meeting of trade ministers in Luxembourg, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic revealed the bloc would significantly reduce its planned countermeasures, originally valued at €26 billion ($28 billion). This retreat signals growing divisions within the EU as member states with strong American trade dependencies push for appeasement rather than confrontation. 

“We are finalising the list tonight, but I can tell you that it will not be up to the level of 26 billion euros, because we’ve been listening very carefully to our member states,” Sefcovic conceded at the post-meeting press conference. 

Despite tough talk about potential escalation, including invoking the Anti-Coercion Instrument to restrict US companies’ access to European markets, the practical reality is stark: Brussels has limited room to manoeuvre. EU goods imports from the US totalled €334 billion in 2024, dwarfed by €532 billion of European exports to America—creating an asymmetric vulnerability that Trump has ruthlessly exploited. 

This fundamental imbalance explains why European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pivoted to offering a “zero-for-zero” tariff deal on industrial goods, effectively surrendering to Trump’s core demand that trading partners eliminate barriers to American exports while accepting his own protectionist measures. 

The strategic retreat is most visible in Europe’s response to Trump’s threat of 200% counter-tariffs on European alcoholic beverages if the bloc proceeds with planned 50% duties on American bourbon. This intimidation has sparked panic in France and Italy, whose wine industries would face devastation under such measures. 

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris laid bare the EU’s weakness by describing the Anti-Coercion Instrument as “very much the nuclear option,” adding that most EU countries weren’t prepared to use it. Dutch Trade Minister Reinette Klever similarly urged restraint, warning that “immediate escalation could further disrupt markets.” 

“Sooner or later, we will sit at the negotiation table with the US and find a mutually acceptable compromise,” Sefcovic admitted—diplomatic language that thinly veils what increasingly looks like a strategic capitulation. 

As the first round of watered-down EU tariffs on US goods takes effect on April 15, with a second diminished wave set for May 15, the fundamentals remain unchanged: Trump has successfully forced Europe into a defensive posture through sheer economic leverage and willingness to accept short-term market disruption for long-term strategic advantage. 

The biblical axiom invoked by some European officials aptly captures their predicament: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” In the emerging economic order, Trump has made clear who Caesar is—and Europe is gradually acknowledging the reality of its subordinate position. 

This is the New World Order…

Paul Knaggs