Commentary
- +11
Cornelius Adebahr, Dan Baer, Rosa Balfour, …
{
"authors": [
"Erik Brattberg"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "EP",
"programs": [
"Europe"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States",
"East Asia",
"China",
"Japan",
"Western Europe",
"United Kingdom",
"France",
"Germany",
"Iran"
],
"topics": [
"Economy",
"Trade",
"Global Governance",
"Foreign Policy"
]
}
Source: Getty
In The Media
U.S. Allies Uniting in Opposition to Trump Trade Policies
The prospect of growing U.S. isolation did not discourage President Trump from pushing his unilateral trade agenda at the G7 summit. This divisive approach is severing the unity that for decades tied together the multilateral economic system.
Published on Jun 9, 2018
Source: Axios
As G7 leaders gather in Quebec, the U.S. is on a collision course with the 6 other members over it the Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum producers in Europe, Canada and Japan.
Why it matters: The prospect of growing U.S. isolation has not deterred President Trump, who will likely use the summit to push his unilateral, economic nationalist trade agenda even harder. The optics of doing so while simultaneously cutting a deal with ZTE, the Chinese technology giant suspected of posing a national security threat to the U.S., add to allies’ sense of victimhood.
At the core of Trump’s trade policy is the notion that the global economy is unfairly rigged against the United States. Trump harbors particular scorn for America’s friends and neighbors, whom he views as cheaters and free-riders. Trump is convinced he can lower the trade deficit by eschewing multilateral negotiations in favor of a transactional deal-by-deal approach. This strategy is rending the fabric that has for decades knit together the multilateral economic system.
But Trump’s polarizing and divisive approach has yet to generate sizable concessions. He may have underestimated EU unity and the importance that export-dependent European nations place on multilateral trade. Rather than caving in to Trump’s demands and offering appeasement, Germany, France, Britain and Italy — along with Canada and Japan — have stuck to their guns. Their leaders expressed “unanimous concern and disappointment” and pledged “decisive action” in the form of counter-tariffs and challenges to the U.S. at the WTO. Both Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron seem to have concluded their efforts to sway Trump have failed, opting instead now for a more direct confrontational approach.
What’s next: How the current dispute over steel and aluminum tariffs will be resolved is still uncertain. Germany wants to cut a deal with Trump that would eliminate transatlantic tariffs entirely. But France opposes entering into such negotiations under the barrel of a gun. And even if Trump eventually softens up, he will already have done irreparable damage to U.S. credibility and leadership.
The bottom line: Trump has managed to unite America’s friends against itself. And while they duke it out, China and Russia are emerging as the real winners.
About the Author
Erik Brattberg
Former Director, Europe Program, Fellow
Erik Brattberg was director of the Europe Program and a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. He is an expert on European politics and security and transatlantic relations.
- How the Transatlantic Relationship Has Evolved, One Year Into the Biden Administration
- China’s Influence in Southeastern, Central, and Eastern Europe: Vulnerabilities and Resilience in Four CountriesPaper
- +1
Erik Brattberg, Philippe Le Corre, Paul Stronski, …
Recent Work
EconomyTradeGlobal GovernanceForeign PolicyNorth AmericaUnited StatesEast AsiaChinaJapanWestern EuropeUnited KingdomFranceGermanyIran
Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie India
- AI in Outer Space: Opportunities, Risks, and the Governance GapCommentary
How is AI reshaping space security, creating governance challenges, and where does international diplomacy stand today?
Tejas Bharadwaj, Almudena Azcárate Ortega
- Threading the Needle: India’s Path Forward with ChinaPaper
After the chill in ties between 2020 and 2024 that brought India–China relations to their lowest point in several decades, the two countries have engaged each other afresh. This paper argues that there are predominantly four imperatives guiding India’s approach to China, and they exist in an order of priority.
Saheb Singh Chadha
- Managing Divergence: India’s BRICS Presidency in 2026Article
This piece argues that India’s central challenge is not managing a single flashpoint but resolving the underlying tension between expansion and institutional coherency of the BRICS grouping.
Vrinda Sahai
- India–Africa Strategic Partnership: Challenges, Potential, and Possible PathwaysArticle
A partnership between India, a country of subcontinental size, and Africa, a continent of fifty-four countries, may seem asymmetric until one notes that both are home to nearly the same number of people—1.4 billion. This essay spells out the existing challenges to the partnership, its optimal potential, and the possible pathways to realize it over the next quarter-century.
Rajiv Bhatia
- The Unresolved Challenges in U.S.–India Semiconductor CooperationCommentary
The U.S.–India semiconductor cooperation story is well-stocked with top-level strategic intent. What remains unresolved, however, are some underlying challenges that will determine whether the cooperation actually functions. Three such friction points stand out.
Shruti Mittal
