Summary
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed Trump’s 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs, calling it a chance for a “frictionless” trade reset.
The EU also paused planned countermeasures but emphasized its continued shift away from U.S.-centered trade, citing instability in U.S. policy.
Von der Leyen reaffirmed EU’s focus on global diversification and internal stability.
Trump dismissed EU proposals as inadequate and accused Europe of exploiting U.S. defense spending while being unfair in trade.
It is easy to say this when you are just a rando on the internet. But these politicians are responsible for the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Keeping the tariffs because a manchild is in charge of the most powerful country, would have had significant negative effects on those lives.
The only thing we can do is pivot the EU away from the US, slowly, while building its military/IT capabilities. Trump(and the US) will suffer eventually. Treating the global economy like a shitcoin has severe long term consequences, consequences that will not be reversible for decades, if not centuries.
But in order to do this while causing as little damage as possible to Europe, it will take time(at least a decade or two).