The bloc must look for new partners as trade tensions with the US increase, the European Commission president has said
The traditional idea of a united West is a thing of the past, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said. She indicated that the EU no longer sees the US as its most important trading partner, after sweeping tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
In an interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit published Tuesday, von der Leyen pointed to a shifting geopolitical landscape as a reason for exploring new markets beyond the US.
“The West as we knew it no longer exists,” she said. “The world has become a globe also geopolitically, and today our networks of friendship span the globe, as you can see in the debate about tariffs.”
Her comments come after the Trump administration imposed a sweeping 20% tariff on all EU goods and a 25% tariff on all car imports in a bid to eliminate what Washington sees as a large trade deficit. The EU responded by introducing its own set of 25% retaliatory tariffs on US imports. Trump later announced a 90-day pause on most global tariffs last week.
According to von der Leyen, tensions with the US have had a “positive side effect” in the form of numerous states attempting to court the EU. “Everyone is asking for more trade with Europe – and it’s not just about economic ties. It is also about establishing common rules and it is about predictability,” she said.
Asked whether her remarks about the West should be interpreted as “a final farewell to the United States,” von der Leyen stressed that she “firmly believe[s]” in the US-EU friendship. “But the new reality also includes the fact that many other states are seeking to draw closer to us. 13% of global trade is with the United States. 87% of the world’s trade is with other countries,” she said.
The EU should therefore “open up new markets for our companies and establish as close a relationship as possible with many countries that have the same interests as us,” von der Leyen added.
As tensions with the US continue to rise – with Trump even suggesting that the EU “was formed in order to screw” America – some leaders in the bloc have called for a review of bilateral ties. Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron urged European firms to halt new investments in the US, asking: “What message would we send by investing billions… while they are hitting us?”
