Still under development, a proposal suggests that, in exchange for increased spending by the bloc on defense and military investment, the American leader could reconsider the possibility of raising tariffs on European products
Leaders of and the United States government are in the planning phase of a new agreement, amid concerns about a possible trade war with the resumption of to the presidency. The new American president has already threatened to increase tariffs on Mexican, Canadian and Chinese products, which raises fears that European products could also be affected by increased tariffs when arriving in the United States. In response, an emerging proposal in Brussels suggests that, in exchange for an increase in European defense spending and military spending, Trump could reconsider additional tariffs on European goods.
Currently, only 11 of the 32 NATO countries, many of which are European, allocate more than 2% of GDP to military spending. Trump’s proposal to increase this percentage to 5% is seen as unrealistic, even for the United States, which currently spends around 3.5% of GDP on defense. The discussion about increased military spending takes place in a broader context of peace negotiations in the Ukraine war and the realignment of geopolitical forces between the United States and its European partners.
*With information from Luca Bassani
*Report produced with the help of AI
