'Europe's ability to defend its interests, already questionable, is now seriously in doubt'

T

he announcement of a deal between the European Union and the United States has shaken up what looked set to be a quiet summer. The official confirmation that Europeans would meekly accept a 15% tariff on their exports to the US is, without doubt, striking.

However, beyond the heated debate in France, which is known neither for its subtlety nor its benevolence toward the EU or the US, any definitive judgment seems premature.

First of all, what do we actually know? As with all trade agreements from the Trump administration – fond of dramatic announcements – we can, for now, only rely on the words of the leaders. For details, we must wait for the publication of a jointly approved text, something this administration no longer guarantees. Incidentally, this will likely only be a political agreement on unilateral actions by each partner, not a trade agreement in the strict sense of the term. So it will not be subject to the usual approval and enforcement mechanisms.

Scope still to be defined