European Union and United States trade deal will foster more than resentment

COGwriter

A few days ago, US President Donald Trump and European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a trade agreement.

One of my contacts in Europe referred to Donald Trump as a bully, and he is correct. And the deal that the EU seems to have accepted looks like it was bullied into agreeing to. Notice one USA and one European headline:

Trump bludgeoned the EU on trade.

July 30, 2025

… the EU agreed to a framework trade deal with the White House that some of the bloc’s national leaders regard as a capitulation,

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/30/politics/trump-china-xi-tariffs-trade-analysis

Trump gets a handshake, Europe gets a shakedown

07/28/25 https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/trump-gets-a-handshake-europe-gets-a-shakedown/

CBS reported the following:

Did the U.S. or the EU emerge as the winner in Trump trade deal?

The new trade agreement between the U.S. and the European Union will lift tariffs on imports of goods from EU countries to their highest level in decades and hurt the trading bloc’s economic growth, according to some experts.

“It is an asymmetric and unbalanced deal,” economists with investment bank Société Générale said in a report. The EU decided neither to retaliate nor to increase its tariffs, and is even expected to reduce them. The EU agreed to a bad deal rather than risk trade war escalation.”

The average tariff on U.S. imports from the EU will surge from 1.2% in 2024 to 17.5%, according to investor advisory firm Capital Economics. That will reduce the EU’s annual gross domestic product by 0.2%, the investment advisory firm forecast.  …

The deal, announced Sunday by President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, imposes a 15% U.S. tariff on most EU imports, while American goods exported to the union’s 27 member countries will face no tariffs. …

The EU also pledged to buy $750 billion worth of energy from the U.S., up from about $80 billion a year, and to invest $600 billion by 2028. …

The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), which represents German automakers, also said a 15% U.S. tariff on the country’s automotive products will hurt its car manufacturers, while noting that the new tariff rate amounts to a reprieve from the 25% automobile levies EU nations have faced since April. 07/29/25 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eu-trade-deal-trump-tariff/

Yes, the deal looks unbalanced and lopsided. It appears to give the USA most of the advantages. The proposal of no tariffs on USA exports, yet tariffs on European Union ones certainly does not sound like “reciprocal tariffs.” However, expect that the EU will ultimately take other actions, including making a later deal with Russia.

Here is a report from AsiaTimes:

EU capitulates to Trump in vassal-state trade deal

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to a framework deal with the US whereby the EU will be charged 15% tariffs on most imports, commit to purchasing US$750 billion in US energy exports and invest $600 billion in the US economy, some of which will be military purchases.

The EU’s macroeconomic strength was greatly weakened over the past 3.5 years as a result of the anti-Russian sanctions … It was therefore already at a critical disadvantage in any prospective trade war. …

The end result is that the EU just subordinated itself as the US’s largest-ever vassal state. 07/28/25 https://asiatimes.com/2025/07/eu-capitulates-to-trump-in-vassal-state-trade-deal/#

The Europeans already resent the deal. Furthermore, they have a different understanding of the deal than the USA does.

Here is a report from EuroNews:

EU and US spin conflicting versions of trade deal, sowing confusion

The trade deal between the European Union and the United States is off to a rocky start.

The preliminary agreement, announced at the end of a face-to-face meeting of Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump in Scotland, has prompted a massive wave of criticism over its heavily lopsided nature in favour of American interests.

On Monday, the European Commission spent the day briefing journalists to defend the deal as an anchor of stability and predictability in troubled times, a pill that is hard to swallow but necessary to avoid a havoc-wreaking tariff war across the Atlantic.

Then the story took a new twist when the White House published a fact sheet about the agreement with multiple claims that mismatched or downright contradicted the version of events presented by the Commission just hours earlier.

On Tuesday, Brussels replied with its own statement, sowing further confusion. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/07/29/eu-and-us-spin-conflicting-versions-of-trade-deal

In other words, the deal is not as stable as many hope.

Notice also:

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) blasted the trade deal negotiated between the United States and the European Union over the weekend, calling it “fake.”

The trade deal sets tariffs on European goods at 15 percent, half the rate Trump had previously threatened on the continent. In exchange, the EU has pledged to buy $750 billion in American energy over the next three years.

The deal is not as pro-USA as it has been portrayed.

Many outside the USA see the deal as a loss to Europe.

Europe seemed to feel it had no other choice than to accept it–for now.

Yet, Europe will take other actions. It will not just resent it.

Things will not turn out as Donald Trump hopes (cf. Daniel 11:39).

Related to future trade, we put together the following video:

14:49

Trade Wars – and the Winner will be …

US President Trump imposed tariffs on a global scale. Those tariffs were imposed on friend and foe alike. It seems as if President Trump is no respecter of nations. But how will this work out for the United States? Will these tariffs result in other nations drawing closer together that have had rather cold, and even not so cold, relations in the past? Will global tariffs result in trade wars? Were the events which are happening predicted by any in the Continuing Church of God? Is Europe drawing closer to China? Is Europe drawing closer to Latin and South America? With the exception of a few of America’s allies, is the net result of these tariffs a worldwide scramble to create new alliances and new trading partners to the exclusion of the United States? What will be the future result of these new alliances? Many of the nations that are now seeking new alliances were just recently America’s allies. They were her friends. Dr. Thiel brings to light the fate of America and her allies at the hands of her former friends, as revealed in the book of Lamentations. As we rapidly approach the end times listen in as Dr. Thiel brings to light world events. Then listen as he shines the light of Bible prophecy directly on the questions raised from these world events.

Here is a link to our video: Trade Wars – and the Winner will be …