The U.S. and Europe in a Time of Crisis

Today on TAP: Military stresses are compounded by economic divisions.

by

The Biden administration has been working hard to keep the European Union and its major constituent nations in support of America’s basic policies on Israel-Gaza and Russia-Ukraine. This is no mean feat, since many Europeans tend to be more war-weary and averse to open conflict with Russia, and less clearly on the side of Israel.

On Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen doubled down on her support both for Ukraine and for Israel, in a speech to the youth organization of the CDU, the German center-right party from whence von der Leyen came. This came after more than 800 EU staff took the unusual step of writing the Commission president to protest what they criticized as her pro-Israel tilt.

Meanwhile, the close and necessary U.S.-EU bond is fraying over economic issues. At the leadership level, both Biden and von der Leyen have expressed support for a Green Steel Deal, in which cleaner steel and aluminum from friendly countries (i.e., not China) would get reciprocal tariff-free treatment. October 20 was supposed to be the deadline for finalizing the deal.

More from Robert Kuttner

But press accounts on the eve of that deadline suggested that the deal would not be made and that the U.S. and the EU were on the verge of a tariff war in steel. Though October 20 came and went, negotiations continue.

The culprits appear to be senior officials of the European Commission’s trade directorate, some of whom seem to think that the U.S. is more a menace than China, and are doing their best to sabotage the deal with obscure technical objections, despite the support of the EU’s political leadership for getting the deal done. In addition, the Europeans are demanding some kind of offset to the U.S. subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act for U.S.-made electric vehicles, and that demand is souring other aspects of the negotiations.

Meanwhile, pressure continues from the U.S. tech industry for the Biden administration to treat the EU’s exemplary pro-privacy and pro-competition rules for digital “gateway” platforms as discriminatory trade practices on the ground that all of the abusive platform monopolies happen to be American. My sources say that the White House and U.S. trade representative are refusing to be cowed.

Happily, there is also counterpressure. Late last week, a coalition of consumer and tech reform groups sent Biden a joint letter urging him to support the EU regs.

Given the fraught military and geopolitical challenges, it’s important for the U.S. and the EU to stay together. The last thing that either side needs is a rupture over economic issues.

A second Trump administration will cement a right-wing majority on the Supreme Court for a generation, and put our collective future in the hands of someone who will be virtually unchecked by our institutions. The country has shifted rightward, and the reverberations will ensue for potentially the next few decades. In this climate, a robust independent media ecosystem will be more important than ever. We're committed to bringing you the latest news on how Trump's agenda will actually affect the American people, shining a light on the stories corporate media overlooks and keeping the public informed about how power really works in this country.

Quality journalism is expensive to produce, and we don't have corporate backers to rely on to fund what we do. Everything we do is thanks to our incredible community of readers, who chip in a few dollars at a time to make our work possible. Any amount you give today will help us continue reporting on what matters to our democracy.

You can help power this newsroom by making a one-time donation or by becoming a member today.