It’s High Time that the European Union Grow a Spine

MARK ALEXANDER: The trade deal reached by the European Union with the USA, with Donald Trump, shows us how weak the European Union actually is. When it comes to the European Union, it’s a question of… Yes, Sir! Of course, Sir! How high should I jump to please you, Sir? How pathetic! Grow a pair, for Christ’s sake!

The European Union is a market of 450 million people. That means to say 450 million potential consumers, It is a far bigger market that the USA is. The population of the USA is a mere 340 million. The sooner that the EU realises its potential purchasing power, the sooner the EU will realise its economic and political potential. For heaven’s sake, the European Union should get its act together! Soon!

© Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved

Trump Says EU and Mexico Face 30% Tariff from August

BBC: President Donald Trump has announced that the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% tariff on imports to the US from 1 August.

He warned he would impose even higher import taxes if either of the US trading partners decided to retaliate.

The announcement was made in two letters posted on Trump's Truth Social website. Similar letters were sent this week to several other countries.

The 27-member EU - America's biggest trading partner - said earlier this week it hoped to agree a deal with Washington before 1 August.

In the letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump wrote: "We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with the European Union, and have concluded that we must move away from these long-term-large, and persistent, trade deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-tariff, policies and trade barriers."

"Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal," the letter added. » | BBC | Saturday, July 12, 2025

Trump Threatens 17% Tariffs on Food and Farm Produce Exports from Europe

THE GUARDIAN: EU says it ‘favours a negotiated solution’ but is prepared for potential trade war with retaliatory duties

Donald Trump threatened to impose 17% tariffs on food and farm produce exports from Europe during talks in Washington this week, it has emerged.

Such tariffs would hit everything from Belgian chocolate to Kerrygold butter from Ireland and olive oil from Italy, Spain and France, all big sellers in the US.

First reported in the Financial Times, sources confirmed that the EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, was given the warning on Thursday when he met the US treasure secretary, Scott Bessent, trade representative Jamieson Greer and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.

EU ambassadors were briefed on the threat on Friday. » | Lisa O'Carroll | Friday, July 4, 2025

Michael Lambert: How Brexit Has Wrecked the UK Economy

Jun 28, 2025 | Last week saw the 9th anniversary of the referendum in which the UK voted to leave the EU. Since Brexit, the UK has struggled economically and faces several major challenges.

Jonathan 'Johnny' Reynolds is the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry charged with spearheading the UK's push for growth. Reynolds who was previously a trainee solicitor and then an assistant to MP James Purnell has no previous business experience. Despite this, he boasts of three major trade deals with, India, the EU, and the USA. It is estimated that these three deals will add less than 1% to the UK GDP in about ten years’ time. Leaving the EU has cost the UK at least 4% of GDP.

Since growth in the UK is very slow owing to the overall economic conditions, and since it is now almost impossible for small and medium sized businesses to sell to the EU given the onerous post-Brexit paperwork and expense involved, it is difficult to see where growth can be found.

Since leaving the EU, the UK has suffered from a shortage of workers in many sectors of the economy, including the NHS, care, hospitality, construction, food processing, and agriculture.

Whilst some EU workers were initially replaced by those from countries such as Nigeria, Bangladesh, and India in response to calls from Nigel Farage, the government has now introduced minimum salary requirements of almost £40,000 per annum for anyone seeking work in the UK. The result is likely to be much more severe shortages.

The government plans to train up British citizens to do the work formally done by foreign workers. Inward investment, often amounting to foreign companies buying UK infrastructure and businesses has dried up, although it is expected that major US asset managers will soon start buying up and renting back UK housing stock.

I Grew Up on American Food. Trust Me, It’s the Last Thing Europe Needs

THE GUARDIAN – OPINION: The EU is under pressure to strike a trade deal with Trump, but an influx of mass-produced, low-quality food must be off the table

ll over European media, the take seems to be similar – that the EU is “under pressure” to conclude some sort of deal with the US in order to avoid Donald Trump’s 9 July deadline for the unilateral imposition of broad tariffs. What might be on the table in the attempt to secure that? In early May, the EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, was already suggesting that a deal to increase purchases from the US could include agricultural products – a possibility that seems to remain even though Šefčovič later clarified that the EU was not contemplating changing its health or safety standards.

Since I have failed to Abba (“Always be boldly acronyming”) and don’t have anything as good as Taco (“Trump always chickens out”) – coined by the Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong – at the ready, I’ll simply reach for the easy line: opening the door even slightly to more US food imports into the EU would leave a bad taste in all our mouths. Trump’s hostage-taking approach to trade should not be rewarded, certainly not with something that hits as close to home as food does. » | Alexander Hurst | Friday, June 20, 2025

Michael Lambert: Keir Starmer's Current Path Might Just Lead to a Nigel Farage Victory

Mar 22, 2025

President of European Central Bank Responds to Trump’s Claim that the EU Was Designed to “Screw” US

May 18, 2025

Menaced by Trump, Canada Prepares to Join E.U. Military Industry Buildup

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Canada’s draft deal to participate in Europe’s defense industry will bring contracts to Canadian manufacturers and help lessen dependence on the United States.

Canada is in advanced talks with the European Union to join the bloc’s new project to expand its military industry, a move that would allow Canada to be part of building European fighter jets and other military equipment at its own industrial facilities.

The budding defense cooperation between Canada and the European Union, which is racing to shore up its industry to lower reliance on the United States, would boost Canada’s military manufacturers and offer the country a new market at a time when its relationship with the United States has become frayed.

Shaken by a crisis in the two nations’ longstanding alliance since President Trump’s election, Canada has started moving closer to Europe. The military industry collaboration with the European Union highlights how traditional U.S. allies are deepening their ties without U.S. participation to insulate themselves from Mr. Trump’s unpredictable moves.

Canada’s new leader, Prime Minister Mark Carney, this week made Paris and London the destinations of his first overseas trip since taking office on Friday, calling Canada “the most European of non-European countries.” » | Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Reporting from Ottawa | Wednesday, March 19, 2025

What If Canada Joined the European Union?

Mar 18, 2025 | Could Canada really join the European Union? With trade tensions and implied threats from Trump and the US, might Canada-European Union relations need a fundamental shift?

Canada, Europe Planning Defense 'without US at the Centre' for First Time since WWII • FRANCE 24

Mar 17, 2025 | Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday warned his country must reduce its reliance on the United States and would turn towards its "reliable" European allies instead on his first trip abroad. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks to Scott Lucas, Professor of US and International Politics at the Clinton Institute at University College Dublin. He says that for the first time since WWII Canada and Europe are planning for defense 'without assuming the US is at the center of it'.

THE NEW YORK TIMES:

‘Most European Non-European Country’: Canada Turns to Allies as Trump Threatens: Days after becoming prime minister, Mark Carney visited Paris and London to highlight deep European friendships as his country fights back against President Trump’s tariffs and annexation talk. »

EU Retaliates Against Trump's New Metal Tariffs | Full Remarks

Mar 12, 2025 | The European Union launched countermeasures on Wednesday against new US metals tariffs, with plans to impose its own duties on €26 billion ($28.3 billion) worth of American goods. The announcement came hours after the US administration imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in a massive escalation of the trade war between two longstanding allies. The EU will immediately begin consultations with member states, with adoption of the tariffs expected in mid-April. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU's trade chief, Maros Sefcovic gave a press briefing setting out the full scope of their response at a press briefing in Strasbourg

‘Watershed Moment’: EU Leaders Agree Plan for Huge Rise in Defence Spending

THE GUARDIAN: Leaders endorse von der Leyen proposal but show of unity over Ukraine is marred by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán

European leaders holding emergency talks in Brussels have agreed on a massive increase to defence spending, amid a drive to shore up support for Ukraine after Donald Trump halted US military aid and intelligence sharing.

But the show of unity was marred by Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, failing to endorse an EU statement on Ukraine pushing back against Trump’s Russia-friendly negotiating stance.

The 26 other EU leaders, including Orbán’s ally Robert Fico, the Slovakian prime minister, “firmly supported” the statement. “There can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine,” said the draft statement, a response to Trump’s attempt to sideline Europe and Kyiv.

Earlier in the day, arriving at the summit, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had originally been scheduled to join by video link, said: “We are very thankful that we are not alone.” » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Thursday, March 6, 2025

€300 Million of Putin’s Money to Be Given to Ukraine

Mar 6, 2025 | “Not should, but we must use them.”

Estonia’s foreign minister says €300 million of seized Russian assets will be given to Ukraine.

Trump Vows to Slap 25% Tariffs on EU and Claims Bloc Was ‘Formed to Screw US

THE GUARDIAN: EU said it will reply ‘firmly and immediately’ to ‘unjustified’ trade barriers, signaling it’s ready to retaliate against levies

Donald Trump has threatened to slap 25% tariffs on the European Union, claiming the 27-country bloc was “formed to screw the United States”.

Speaking at his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the US president said he would soon release details of the latest tariff threat. “We have made a decision and we’ll be announcing it very soon. It’ll be 25%,” he said.

The EU vowed to respond “firmly and immediately” to “unjustified” trade barriers, signaling that it stands ready to retaliate swiftly against new tariffs.

The bloc is the US’s third largest trading partner alongside China. Trump has said he will impose 25% tariffs on the US’s two largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, next week. » | Dominic Rushe in New York | Wednesday, February 26, 2025

It is unbelievable how badly informed this US president is when it comes to history and past geo-political events. Mr Trump needs to buy himself some history books and start doing some serious studying. The man is making a fool of himself by uttering such ridiculous and false statements. – © Mark Alexander

Trump Is Destroying Western Unity as He ‘Cosies’ Up to Putin | Andrew Neil

Feb 24, 2025 | “Trump seems to be keener to cosy up to Putin than he is to defend his NATO allies.”

If Trump continues in his approach this is “the end in many ways” of a united western world, says Times Radio’s Andrew Neil.


FT! FA! LE! – © Mark Alexander

'Trump Has Thrown Ukraine under a Tank' | Latvian MEP Rihards Kols

Feb 14, 2025 | “Ukraine has to be at the table, not on the table.”

Latvian MEP Rihards Kols calls for a Casablanca conference as Ukraine has been “thrown under the tank” by Trump.

The US Has Sold Ukraine Down the River – and Shown Britain What ‘America First’ Means in Practice

THE GUARDIAN: A superpower that once built alliances across the west is dramatically reorienting itself – and so too must its former allies

A superpower that once built alliances across the west is dramatically reorienting itself – and so too must its former allies

Wrapped in a flag and clutching a beer, Marc Fogel looked understandably overwhelmed. The 63-year-old teacher from Pennsylvania was safe at last, freed via prisoner exchange from the Russian jail where he served three and a half years for possessing the marijuana his family says he took for back pain. His homecoming this week was just the kind of heartwarming scene Donald Trump needs to show ordinary Americans that cosying up to Vladimir Putin’s murderous regime could pay off, and the president himself said he hoped it marked “the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war” in Ukraine.

Or to put it another way, hours later his new defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, was in Brussels dictating the effective terms of Ukraine’s surrender, over Ukrainian heads and on terms that a former head of MI6 has called a “golden opportunity” for Putin to walk away. » | Gaby Hinsliff | Friday, February 14, 2025

FA ! Americans are no longer to be trusted, especially under Trump. We Europeans need to be unified and strong, and we need to work hard and fast to make Europe unified and mighty.

Bring Canada into the European Union, and with despatch. Canadians share our European values. Britain, of course, belongs in the European Union, too. And if the English don’t want it, then the UK needs to be broken up to allow England to become a US state so the Scotland, Wales and a united Ireland can be part of the European Union.

The UK shares a language with Americans, but not a mentality. – © Mark Alexander

How Trump & EU Can Help Ukraine Win the War on Its ‘Own Terms’: Sir Bill Browder

Feb 13, 2025 | Sir Bill Browder tells Times Radio’s Maddie Hale that Donald Trump and European Nations need to work together to confiscate the $300 billion worth of frozen Russian assets in the west and fund Ukraine’s military needs so the country doesn’t have to negotiate an “unsatisfactory” deal with Vladimir Putin and it can win the war on its “own terms”.

Trump's Actions Transform 'Dissent within Canadian Populace' into Staunch 'Anti-American Sentiment'

Feb 13, 2025 | Buffeted by tariffs and threats from Washington, the European Union and Canada seek an economic rapprochement and to diversify trade away from the United States. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on a looming trade war, FRANCE 24's François Picard is joined by Dr James D. Boys, Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre on US Politics (CUSP) at UCL.

It’s high time that the UK stopped acting like the US’s poodle. Our place is with the EU, not with the US. – © Mark Alexander

Trade Tariff Turmoil Pushes Canada to Rethink US Ties | DW News

Feb 12, 2025 | Trump’s tariff policies are straining US-Canada relations. After imposing and then suspending tariffs, Canadian leaders are reassessing their ties with the US. Some are now looking to the European Union as a potential alternative. Major publications, including The Toronto Star and The Economist, are openly questioning whether Canada could align more closely with Europe. European politicians are also weighing in. Could this mark a significant shift in global alliances?