THE WISDOM OF EUROPE AGAINST THE TRUMP-STORM

The record of the first three months of the Trump administration is devastating.

War in Ukraine

He promised an end to the conflict in 24 hours. To achieve this he gave Putin credit, humiliated Zelensky. Kyiv accepted the U.S. proposal for a ceasefire, instead Moscow rejected it. Putin doesn't give a damn about Trump's demands and aims to wear down Ukraine. The war continues, with increasingly heavy Russian shelling especially on Ukrainian civilian targets. 

Result? An advantage for Russia and a weakening on the ground in Kyiv. So much for peace.

War in Gaza

Trump He had promised a truce and even dreamed of deporting 2 million Palestinians to nowhere to turn the Strip into a Riviera for billionaires. Israel was given a free hand and is carrying out the worst massacres in two years, even bombing Red Cross cell ambulances. The moderate Arab countries are increasingly at loggerheads with their squares that do not accept the inhumane behavior against Gaza's civilian population. 

Result? A license to kill for Netanyahu who feels empowered and gives space to the demands of the far right who want the genocide of the Palestinians.

Relations with allies and Europe

Trump misses no opportunity, together with his deputy Vance , to offend friendly countries and to jeopardize 80 years of the partnership that has been the pillar of world peace. NATO itself is challenged in the facts, because Trump plays with demands for increased military spending as if he were at a poker table: first the 2%,then the 3.5% now the 5%.And he threatens to encompass Canada, occupy Greenland and abandon the eastern shore of the Atlantic to its fate.

Result? China takes advantage of this loss of America's reliability and prestige and extends its hand to all countries that feel "betrayed" by Trump.

Economic policy and tariffs

Trump is destroying the world economic balance that America had tailor-made for its interests since 1947 and that also created prosperity for many countries. The historic hyper-protectionist decisions that set the US back 100 years are based on egregious lies. To justify the monstrous tariffs he has imposed on the whole world, including islands populated only by penguins but making an exception for Moscow, Trump has used a trick that turns what are not tariffs into duties. All economists on all political sides have exposed this colossal hoax. But he makes no bones about it. 

How to react to this storm on tariffs is very difficult. Especially because of the unpredictability of Trump, who changes his mind every second and not after consulting experts but only trusting his narcissistic instincts. Imagine companies bending their heads and deciding to move their operations to the U.S., It takes a couple of years, on average, to build new factories. Meanwhile, Trump may have changed his mind or lost the midterm elections in 18 months or been forced out of the White House.

Result? Wall Street has burned over 10 trillion. since Trump has been in power European and Asian stock exchanges have suffered a shock like during 9/11 in 2001. Global recession is inevitable. And China strengthens its position as the linchpin of a new world economic order no longer based on America.

What to do?

 The world is faced with a dilemma: do we stand by and consider Trump's follies a fatuous fire that lasts a few weeks and then we come to our senses, or do we react strongly to show that we are not intimidated by behavior unworthy of a friendly and responsible country?

The best solution? 

Europe needs to do 5 things:

- apply, in unity, immediately counter-duties only on certain goods, so as not to upset the entirety of trade relations with the U.S;

-create at least 400million in joint debt to support businesses affected by U.S. policy  

-loosen the constraints of the Stability Pact to allow individual member states to provide direct supports to sectors in great difficulty

- Raise the tax burden on services provided by some American companies that get rich in Europe by evading taxes 

-predict within a couple of months a strategic European industrial and commercial plan to seek new markets, easing the burden of exports to the U.S. but avoiding giving in to the song of Chinese sirens, ready to beguile our industries.

In short, it's time for Europe to be called upon not only to think about common defense but also common industrial and trade policy.

*The cartoon by Alex Di Gregorio is published courtesy of The Discussion newspaper.