Calm before the storm: Europe should not lull itself into a false sense of security

Anyone who believes Donald Trump has reversed course in the trade dispute may soon be proven wrong. After temporary easing of tensions with Great Britain and China, the US president's attention will sooner or later turn back to his favorite enemy: Europe. The European Union is "meaner than China," Trump recently declared – thus laying the rhetorical axe to a transatlantic relationship with an economic volume of €1.6 trillion.

This focus isn't entirely surprising for the financial markets. For Trump, the EU has never been anything more than a subsidy club with trade surpluses, relying on the US security umbrella and export model. What is new, however, is Europe's strategic sidelining in the global struggle for wealth: While the US is concluding trade agreements with all sorts of countries, Europe appears to be at the back of the queue politically.

wallstreetONLINE Editorial Team

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