“We will work towards a more united, stronger, more sovereign Europe in this new context. By cooperating with the United States of America and defending our interests and our values,” Macron said on X.
German horror show
Trump has singled out Germany, and its big car exporters, for particular spite in his trade tirades — which were lent fresh fuel by figures published on the eve of the election showing the U.S. trade deficit with the EU on course to hit a record this year.
Germany’s main industry lobby, the Federation of German Industry (BDI), was apparently so stunned by the U.S. election result that it issued a statement incorrectly attributed to “BDI President Donald Trump.”
“Transatlantic relations are facing an epochal change,” the BDI said in an updated statement, citing its head Siegfried Russwurm. Trump’s tariffs “would massively damage not only Germany and the EU, but also the U.S. economy.”
In addition to disrupting global trade — and especially Chinese exports — through his tariffs, Trump’s return could also deal a death blow to the rules-based global trading order and the World Trade Organization, trade economists warn.
The result would be “profound economic losses,” according to Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which forecasts a fall of up to 0.5 percent in EU gross domestic product and a decline in German output of 3.2 percent, with China bearing even greater losses.