Trump Is Smashing a ‘Phenomenal’ Deal He Already Has
A $1.5 trillion trade relationship with the EU has cemented US financial, military and technological dominance — until now.
Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron met in February 2025. No one’s laughing now.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North AmericaDonald Trump’s tariff blizzard has wiped trillions off the US stock market, raised the risk of recession and infuriated allies everywhere. And for what? China is retaliating, as is Canada, and France and Germany are pushing Brussels to take a tougher stance. Not exactly the “phenomenal” negotiating offers that the Trump administration had expected.
The irony is especially palpable in Europe. It’s hard to imagine a counteroffer better than the setup the US already has: An integrated, pliant, US-aligned market of 440 million people worth $1.5 trillion a year in transatlantic trade. That estimate includes $976 billion in goods commerce, which is now at risk from Trump’s 20% blanket tariff, and $500 billion in services trade, now at risk from European retaliation.