Donald Trump the Megathread part II

https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1949578088712712651

Absolute Joke, trump must be laughing his hole off that the EU agreed to give so much I return for nothing, literally nothing.

Below what a French journalist thinks of it.

"Disturbing to see a New York Times journalist burst into my kitchen at 8 AM to make himself scrambled eggs, then kiss my wife before rushing off to work, but well, it's provided for in the agreement signed by von der Leyen. Everyone wins."

Purchasing 750 billion of expensive LNG. Purchasing hundreds of billions in military equipment. 0% tarriffs on American imports while EU has 15% on their exports. That's just a few points. Name one thing the EU got from this deal/framework.

The US doesn’t produce never mind have the facilities to export 250bn$ of LNG per year

That’s before you get to more obvious point that EU can’t force companies where they buy gas from, hell they can’t even prevent companies buying Russian gas

Unless your living under a rock. This was not a good deal for the EU

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123678449#Comment_123678449

What exactly has the EU given them. Here is what

realDonaldTrump/114926827953437897

He gave the exact details if you watch the video

So its just a framework and doesn't mean anything?. Is that the way you want to spin it?

The EU Fooled the Trump?

You sound surprised. You do know he's so clever he thought about nuking a hurricane?

With regard the EU-US trade deal, I was very disappointed with the headline summaries. However, I think much of it is just a concession to let Trump look like hes got a great deal

• $600b of investment in the US by the EU looks like a huge headline. However,
  • none of that money will come from the EU budget, it will only be from private firms.
  • Currently EU firms invest $2.5t in the US, so this would be a 20% increase, which was forecasted to increase naturally.
  • The EU has been clear they cant and wont compell EU businesses to invest there,
  • so its just a nice PR headline for Trump

• Similar the $750b of energy purchase from the USA was planned and in motion from the RePower EU plan in 2022 to pivot from Russian energy to Norway/Mid East/USA.
  • If anything its just accelerating what was already planned, not new demand.
  • Further, the US supplies about $60b of enery to the EU a year now, I amnt familiar with that industry or their infrastructure, but I think the US will struggle to quadruple their output to meet demand,
  • so I suspect this is just another headline number

• The 15% tariff will include a lot of 'zero-for-zero' industries and sectors,
  • Ive read sectors identified account fo around 40% of EU exports.
  • Very simple maths here, but if successful, that would leave the other 60% of exports with a 15% tariff,
  • so weighted average means a total effective tariff rate of around ~9%.

No public money committed, no structural shift in energy or investment policy, and real tariffs softened through exemptions.

Still unhappy with this as it gives a dangerous and shameless regime a nice PR win, however to me this demonstrates that the EU’s greatest weakness its lack of deep political union. When negotiating with a single, centralised power like the US lead by an unstable dangerous narcessist and his lackeys, the EU’s need to balance the needs and wants of 27 members (some wanting a firm line, others to avoid trade wars at all costs, others to keep the US sweet so they dont abandon NATO yet, and others being stooges of Trumps acting like a Trojan horse to **** up and slow things down), its Parliament, and its Commission, means it need s to spend more time and energy just trying to establish a cohesive stable base and an actual set of concise objectives, unlike Trump and co.

As the EU exists today it will have economic power but lack the political union and integration to be able to effectively stand toe to toe with the likes of the USA, China, BRICS nations soon…. We need deeper union in my view, and sooner rather than later

Did tou watch the video? Trump in front of Von der Leyden outlined their agreement on camera ( unless you think von der leyden is going to renage on this face to face agreement)

The Eu agrred to purchase $750 billion worth of U.S. energy, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), oil, and nuclear fuels, over three years (approximately $250 billion annually through 2028).

The EU pledged to invest $600 billion in the U.S. by 2028, above existing commitments. These investments are expected to target sectors like infrastructure, technology, and manufacturing, potentially creating jobs and economic growth in the U.S.

Military Equipment Purchases: The EU committed to buying “hundreds of billions of dollars” worth of U.S. military equipment, though specific amounts and timelines were not detailed in the announcements. This could include weapons, defense systems, or related technologies, strengthening U.S. defense industries.

Market Access for U.S. Goods: The EU agreed to open its markets to U.S. manufacturers, with Trump stating that EU countries will accept U.S. imports at zero tariffs.

Acceptance of 15% U.S. Tariff: The EU conceded to a 15% U.S. tariff on ~70% of its exports to the U.S. (e.g., cars, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals), down from a threatened 30% but up from 2024’s 1.2% average. This represents a compromise to maintain market access, with exemptions for certain goods (e.g., aircraft, some chemicals, generic drugs).

The U.S. initiated the tariff threat, forcing the EU to negotiate on its terms. The deal reflects U.S. priorities (e.g., energy exports, deficit reduction) more than EU ones.

This just proves, AGAIN, that Trump was made a fool of.