Next global war will be trade war: U.S. may use EU against China — political scientist

Political scientist Vadym Denysenko expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

“There is nothing extraordinary about tariffs on the EU from Trump’s point of view. His logic is very simple. As of today, if you look at America’s trade balance, Europe has a trade surplus with the U.S.—it sells more to the U.S. than it buys. The key question is whose side the European Union will take in the future global trade war: China’s or the United States’,” he noted.

Right now, Trump is accelerating processes to fully tie the EU to the United States and eliminate even the theoretical possibility of Europe shifting toward China. The U.S. is likely to fight China using European hands, Denysenko said.

“According to Trump’s assessment, the key story behind these tariffs is this: tariffs are introduced, and EU companies realize they need to build factories and transfer certain technologies to the U.S. This process will be joined by major investments from Saudi Arabia, which has already confirmed plans to invest $600 billion. Trump is talking about up to $3 trillion in investments into the U.S. economy. As a result, there will be a partial relocation of enterprises from the EU to the U.S. in exchange for ensuring Europe’s security. Essentially, NATO will continue to exist and serve as the key protective organization for the EU. In the future, these tariffs may be reviewed and reduced. At the same time, it is possible that the EU will start imposing tariffs against China, given that its trade balance is positive with the U.S. but negative with China. I think Europeans will quickly give in and agree to the conditions Trump is proposing,” he concluded.

• On January 31, U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on goods from the European Union.
• That same day, the White House reported that Trump would introduce tariffs on goods from Canada, China, and Mexico starting February 1.
• On February 3, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated that a potential “trade war” between the EU and the U.S. would harm both sides, with China being the only one to benefit.
• Later, Trump warned Americans that tariffs on Canadian, Chinese, and Mexican goods could cause them some “pain.” At the same time, he reaffirmed his intention to impose tariffs on the EU.
• In response to Trump’s statements about upcoming tariffs on EU goods, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe would have to “respect itself.”