If there was ever any doubt, it should be gone by now–Donald Trump has fired the EU. The same demeaning ritual has been repeated over and over again: Trump announces his plan to change American policy; the Europeans troop to his office, suck up to him, and beg him to change his mind; and he ignores them. Disbelief is turning to anger. Something must be done to show Trump that life doesn’t imitate “The Apprentice,” and he is not the boss of the EU.
But what? The EU can remain consistent with its rules-based approach to problems and call on the assistance of the WTO, but that takes years. Blowing up NATO and jacking up defense budgets won’t be welcomed by EU taxpayers. The emerging illiberal democracies in the EU don’t really agree with the rules-based approach, anyway. Another way has to be found.
There is one: protectionism. Historically, the EU has been far more protectionist than the US. Today, with the shoe on the other foot, I suspect it would be relatively easy to unite the continent on the basis of sanctions against the US. These could be removed once the US returns to its senses, which will probably happen sometime around January 20, 2021.