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Trump’s Imperialism

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Published in Frankfurter Rundschau
(Germany) on 26 November 2024
by Karl Doemens (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Mallory Matsumoto. Edited by Michelle Bisson.
Europeans should take the tariffs and trade war that the U.S. has threatened seriously and prepare themselves for the end of common rules in trans-Atlantic relations.

The new U.S. president is not yet in office, but Donald Trump already has the world holding its breath. His tariffs for the country’s three most significant trading partners could set off an international trade war and cause the global economy to descend into chaos. The announcement is a raised middle finger: The most powerful man in the world is scared of nothing and no one.

Optimists may interpret the threat as unconventional leverage for negotiations. But the demands are so maximalist that the three countries could not possibly meet them — certainly not by Jan. 20. Even more disturbing is that Trump is not imposing tariffs to even out trade imbalances but as an imperialist lever against political decisions by foreign governments. Not much imagination is needed to picture what that means for Europe.

It is time that Europeans take the message seriously: The era of common values and rules in trans-Atlantic relations are over. The new U.S. president has only one partner: himself.


Trumps Imperialismus
Die Europäer sollten die angedrohten US-Strafzölle und einem Handelskrieg ernst nehmen und sich auf das Ende gemeinsamer Regeln im transatlantischen Verhältnis einstellen.

Der neue Präsident der USA ist noch nicht im Amt, da hält Donald Trump schon die Welt in Atem. Seine Zölle für die drei wichtigsten Handelspartner seines Landes könnten einen internationalen Handelskrieg auslösen und die Weltwirtschaft ins Chaos stürzen. Die Ankündigung ist ein ausgestreckter Mittelfinger: Der mächtigste Mann der Welt schreckt vor nichts und niemandem zurück.
Optimisten mögen die Drohung als unkonventionellen Hebel für Verhandlungen interpretieren. Doch die Forderungen sind so maximal, dass die drei Länder sie unmöglich erfüllen können – schon gar nicht bis zum 20. Januar. Noch beunruhigender ist, dass Trump die Zölle nicht für den Ausgleich von Handelsungleichgewichten einsetzt, sondern als imperialistisches Druckmittel gegen politische Entscheidungen fremder Regierungen. Man braucht nicht viel Fantasie, um sich auszumalen, was das für Europa bedeutet.
Es wird Zeit, dass die Europäer die Botschaft ernst nehmen: Die Zeiten gemeinsamer Werte und Regeln im transatlantischen Verhältnis sind vorbei. Der neue US-Präsident kennt nur einen Partner: sich selbst.
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