US Tariffs at 30%? C'mon, Europe... Do Something
Things are bad when US bank bosses are the ones pushing Europe to toughen up.
Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., speaks at an event in Dublin, Ireland, on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
Photographer: Patrick Bolger/Bloomberg
“C’mon, do something.” The meme of a cartoon figure poking a dead fish with a stick could apply to the European establishment in these strained trade-war times.
Just days after a collective sigh of acceptance in Brussels that US blanket tariffs of around 10% were inescapable, trade officials are belatedly scrambling after President Donald Trump’s latest threat of 30%, which would likely spell recession for the euro area. A bullying tactic it may be — and one that would draw counter-tariffs on €72 billion ($84 billion) of goods including Boeing Co. aircraft — but it shows how cowed the mood has become even as Germany heads for a zero-growth year and France struggles to tame its deficit.