Donald Trump says trade wars are easy to win. Is that true?
BERLIN — Donald Trump makes light of trade wars, claiming they are easy to win. We’re about to find out if he’s right. The U.S. president has imposed tariffs of 10 percent on China from Tuesday, while...
View ArticleTrump orders creation of sovereign wealth fund, hints it could buy TikTok
President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the Treasury and Commerce departments to take steps to form a sovereign wealth fund that could be used to fund new government...
View ArticleTrump’s aid freeze leaves UN food agency scrambling, with millions at risk
BRUSSELS — The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) is facing a crisis after the United States halted dozens of aid grants despite an emergency waiver meant to keep food assistance flowing. The freeze...
View ArticleWe asked DeepSeek about geopolitics. It gave us Beijing talking points.
DeepSeek has a habit of regurgitating Chinese government talking points. The Chinese artificial intelligence revelation has shocked and alarmed Western markets, technology giants and governments in...
View ArticleThe menace of deindustrialization in the EU — and what we can do about it
Europe cannot lose the global competition or become a continent of naive people and ideas. If we go bankrupt, no one will care about the natural environment globally … — Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s...
View ArticleClimate change threatens EU’s survival, German security report warns
BRUSSELS — Global warming represents an existential threat to the European Union, according to a landmark German government report. Germany’s federal intelligence service (BND) teamed up with...
View Article5 takeaways in the EU’s big agriculture (and food) vision
BRUSSELS — The European Commission published its long-term “vision” for the European Union’s agriculture and food policy on Wednesday, setting out ambitions for a sector that has been at the center of...
View ArticleEurope likely to miss most green targets for 2030
The European Union is likely to miss most of the 2030 green targets it set itself in a bid to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by midcentury, a new report by the European Environment...
View ArticleUK minister met Chinese turbine company amid security concerns
LONDON — Britain’s investment minister met with China’s biggest offshore wind company last year, amid security fears about the role of Chinese firms in U.K. and European energy projects. Ministerial...
View ArticleBrussels plans sweeping cuts to EU’s green rules, leaked bill reveals
BRUSSELS — The European Commission will propose deep cuts to the European Union’s environmental reporting rule book in its bid to slash red tape and boost the bloc’s struggling economy, according to a...
View ArticleTrump wants Europe to buy more US farm goods. It can’t.
BRUSSELS — Donald Trump is an equal-opportunity mercantilist. When it comes to the European Union’s €198 billion trade surplus with the United States, he’ll claw at any sector he can. Brandishing 25...
View ArticleBrussels confirms dramatic U-turn on corporate green rules
BRUSSELS — The vast majority of businesses in the European Union would no longer have to disclose their impact on the environment or exposure to the risks of climate change under a proposed bill that...
View ArticleDonald Trump might have made a bad mineral deal with Ukraine
BRUSSELS — President Donald Trump, who prides himself on his negotiating skills, is on the brink of clinching a deal that would give the U.S. preferential access to Ukraine’s extensive raw material...
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Internal backlash saved EU green finance rules from extinction
ANTWERP, Belgium — Only a rearguard weekend fight by senior European Commission officials prevented the rollback of major green finance rules this week, documents seen by POLITICO show, highlighting...
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Czech farmers lead fresh EU border protests over Ukraine, LatAm trade deals
BRUSSELS — Farmers in the Czech Republic spearheaded a new wave of protests against EU trade policy on Thursday, rallying at border crossings and driving tractors onto roads in a show of defiance...
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ECB set to cut interest rates again as inflation takes a back seat to Trump
The European Central Bank is set to cut interest rates again next week, determined to do its bit to support an economy beset by a host of problems largely outside its control. For four years, the ECB...
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Northern Ireland risks being caught in crossfire of Trump’s trade war
LONDON — Northern Ireland could suffer collateral damage in U.S. President Donald Trump’s impending trade war with the European Union — thanks to its hybrid status post-Brexit. The EU is firmly within...
View ArticleEPP calls for fast-track vote on omnibus simplification bill next week
The center-right European People’s Party is calling for the European Parliament to fast-track a major new bill amending EU green corporate disclosure rules, in a move that could see a vote on part of...
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Trump tariff war would hurt Boeing more than Airbus
BRUSSELS — Donald Trump’s tariff wars are supposed to herald a new American dream but they could become a nightmare for Boeing, which is in danger of suffering more than its rival Airbus. On Tuesday,...
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Here’s Britain’s pitch to Donald Trump on a new tech pact
LONDON — Keir Starmer’s government is pinning hopes for closer economic ties with the United States on a trade pact that talks up the West winning the technology race — and avoids awkward chat about...
View ArticleEU plans to boost medicines manufacturing in drug shortages bill
Europe has a plan to avert drug shortages — to make more of them and tie their contracts to their availability. The Critical Medicines Act, to be presented Tuesday afternoon in Strasbourg by European...
View ArticleDevelopment banks as key players in defense financing
In times of urgency, national promotional bank institutions (NPBIs) are the optimal solution to complement the role of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and other alternatives. NPBIs are best suited...
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Belgium wanted a drug shortages bill. It’s not happy with the EU’s plan.
Belgium was the architect of a European plan to tackle chronic drug shortages. But it views the EU’s long-awaited fix announced Tuesday as a letdown. Even before the European Commission presented its...
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No industry, no tanks: EU bets on more clean steel to secure its future
BRUSSELS — The EU needs to build more tanks — and there’s no reason why those tanks can’t be green. In a bid to save its decaying steel and metal industries, the EU has formulated a plan to protect...
View ArticleUS announces Black Sea deal with Russia and Ukraine
The White House announced Tuesday that it had reached separate agreements with Russia and Ukraine to allow for “safe navigation” in the Black Sea, eliminating a major roadblock for peace talks between...
View ArticleTrump announces additional 25 percent tariff on auto imports
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he plans to impose an additional 25 percent tariff on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of imported cars and auto parts, hitting key trading...
View ArticleCarney says tariffs force new era for Canada-US ties
OTTAWA — Canada’s traditional relationship with the United States is over, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday in response to President Donald Trump’s potentially crippling auto tariffs. Carney...
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Battle over EU green rules shakes von der Leyen’s fragile centrist coalition
STRASBOURG — The two largest forces in the European Parliament are locked in a game of chicken over green rules that threatens to destabilize Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen’s centrist...
View ArticleTrump’s tariffs threaten US weapons production
President Donald Trump’s tariffs aren’t just an economic disruption. They’re a security one. His program, if implemented as planned, could muddle global supply chains the Pentagon has spent decades...
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India could help save an aging Europe
Anchal Vohra is a Brussels-based international affairs commentator. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen beamed as she stood next to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders...
View ArticleNorthern Ireland’s firms fear they’ll lose millions in Trump’s trade war
LONDON — Northern Irish businesses will be on the hook for millions if the European Union retaliates against U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. While the EU is finalizing its battle plan, Keir...
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