jsmith1_ MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEVAFPGetty Images_trump and putin

The Year Ahead 2019

Transatlanticism, Interrupted

Jan 16, 2019 Julianne Smith

Trump administration officials tell anyone who is worried about the fate of American alliances to ignore the president’s tweets and pay attention to his policies. But it is precisely Trump’s policies that are doing lasting damage to America’s most important relationships.

BERLIN – Of all the smears that US President Donald Trump has made, his mendacious claims about the European Union are perhaps the most egregious. “Nobody treats us much worse than the European Union,” Trump said in October. “The European Union was formed in order to take advantage of us on trade, and that’s what they’ve done.”

Obviously, nothing could be further from the truth. Yet whenever I raise concerns over comments like these with friends serving in the Trump administration, I always get the same response: ignore the rhetoric and the tweets; pay attention to the policies. Should those of us who worry about America’s longstanding alliances be reassured by this argument?

On one hand, some of the Trump administration’s policies – not least the significant increase in funding for the European Deterrence Initiative – do indeed reflect a firm commitment to America’s European allies. But, on the other hand, such policies are not enough to counter the lasting damage that Trump is inflicting on the transatlantic relationship with his destructive rhetoric and evident contempt for Europe.

We hope you're enjoying Project Syndicate.

To continue reading, subscribe now.

Already have an account? Log in

Support High-Quality Commentary

For more than 25 years, Project Syndicate has been guided by a simple credo: All people deserve access to a broad range of views by the world's foremost leaders and thinkers on the issues, events, and forces shaping their lives. At a time of unprecedented uncertainty, that mission is more important than ever – and we remain committed to fulfilling it.

But there is no doubt that we, like so many other media organizations nowadays, are under growing strain. If you are in a position to support us, please subscribe now.

As a subscriber, you will enjoy unlimited access to our On Point suite of long reads and book reviews, Say More contributor interviews, The Year Ahead magazine, the full PS archive, and much more. You will also directly support our mission of delivering the highest-quality commentary on the world's most pressing issues to as wide an audience as possible.

By helping us to build a truly open world of ideas, every PS subscriber makes a real difference. Thank you.

Subscribe Now

new comment has been posted. new comments have been posted.

0 Comments on this paragraph, 4 in all 4 Comments on this article

Elizabeth Pula Feb 15, 2019

Here's a great article to help that "thinking creatively about new paths for cooperation": https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/feb/15/the-us-hidden-empire-overseas-territories-united-states-guam-puerto-rico-american-samoa

Daniel doesn't delve into the concept of "empire", and of course "empirical" thought deeply enough, but it's a great initial approach to pursue some better understanding of intellectual idealism, ideation, and the idealization process. Any reader could pursue the story about Bikini island, and that great movie about WW2 and atom bomb tests, to get a bit more of a perspective, about 19th and 20th racial bias.

Daniel also misrepresents certain racial bias about slavery, colonial power, and independent/dependent states. There is a "personal" state, as viewed from within the human being, and there is an "impersonal" state, as viewed by a human being, and projected from the internalized conceptual awareness of the human being. Slavery is not rooted in "white" supremacy, nor specifically within or by any race. Enslavement is an extreme misconception, perpetuated by certain human beings, based on their distortion of positions and dynamics of power. There's a few other details that come into play, but that's good enough for an introduction, right now.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
David Altman Feb 3, 2019

Why do commentators crow about President Trump's disparaging, but clear-eyed view on the E.U., while completely overlooking the extensive European abuse of America? Paris and Berlin, until quite recently, were open about their desire to create an economic superpower ("with a larger internal market than the United States") which would seize maximum advantage of U.S. markets while limiting access to U.S. exports. U.S. agriculture was banned because of its reliance on genetic editing techniques, which have never (ever) been proven to be harmful by any reasonable scientific study (and are U.N. approved as well). Tele-film exports were limited by "cultural" exceptions. American internet companies were punished because they were economically dominant, even though there was no proof that such dominance was obtained by illegal means. American aerospace technology was restricted by 20 billion dollars in E.U. subsidies. American pharmaceutical patents were expropriated by European rivals because health-care is a human right. European motor vehicle tariffs on U.S. vehicles are TWICE that imposed by the U.S. on their European counterparts. Meanwhile, since the 1990s, American administrations, Democrat and Republican, were rudely rebuffed in demanding that European NATO countries increase their defense budgets. The list of unequal treatment is very, very long. The endgame is that the U.S. runs a $400 Billion trade deficit, while spending an equal amount on European defense. Did this stop President Mitterand or his successors from vocally disparaging the U.S. "social programme"? No. Did any of this stop the $1 Billion Rosneft-bribed German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder or blithely back-stabbing French Foreign Minister Dominque De Villepin from hurling abuse and slander on the U.S., its president and Secretary of State? No. All of these actions were taken decades before a President Trump existed. So, perhaps Europe should look long and hard at itself to discern why even the most Atlanticist Americans, such as myself, look upon Continental Europe with little love these days. Europeans should understand, Americans are entirely fed up with Europe's anti-Americanism and double standards.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
j. von Hettlingen Jan 20, 2019

If Julianne Smith wants to salvage the Transatlantic relationship, she needs to appeal to European leaders, because Trump is beholden to Russia to assume leadership. More and more people are convinced that he is out there to tear up this relationship, by openly encouraging EU member states to leave the bloc, abandoning the Iran nuclear deal, that has been one of the signature achievements of EU-US cooperation in recent years.
This is a strategic bonanza for Putin and his vision of a revanchist Russia. No one knows how much Moscow has spent on meddling in the 2016 US election and supporting right-wing populists across Europe. But it shows how good the Kremlin’s return has been on what Western intelligence agencies believe was a relatively modest investment. The Kremlin has seen an opening to expand its influence in Europe, where rising nationalism has threatened to fracture the EU.
The coming April marks the 70th anniversary of NATO, an alliance set up by the US in an effort to rebuild Europe after World War II. Together with Bretton Woods and the Marshall Plan, the three institutions formed the foundations of the post-world order, which shared the ideals of peace, freedom and democracy. Its goal was to stabilise Europe and prevent the emergence of new forms of totalitarianism. The system worked well until Trump came along and knocked it down.
Already during the campaign Trump said NATO was obsolete, complaining about member states not paying their fair share of defence, while relying on the US for security. He questioned America’s commitment to collective defence, coming to European allies’ rescue should they be attacked by Russia. Last summer he plunged the summit into chaos, rebuking some member states for failing to increase their spending. A few days ago he threatened again to withdraw from NATO.
The Transatlantic rift will have far-reaching ramifications, given the role NATO plays in counter-terrorism operations, intelligence sharing, sanctions enforcement etc. The alliance provides reliability in an unreliable world. Since Trump took office, Europe is undertaking significant steps to enhance its military prowess. However he still refuses to acknowledge that NATO is another vital source of American strength on the global stage.
Meanwhile Trump is hell-bent on implementing his “America First” agenda, turning away from multilateral trade agreements that the US signed with allies decades ago. Last summer, amid tensions between the US and the EU, he lashed out at the bloc, saying it was “formed in order to take advantage of us on trade.” He vowed to retaliate for slapping a $5 billion fine on Google, by imposing levies on auto imports from the EU.
Although China is not spared from Trump’s trade standoff, it is seeking to step in and play an even bigger role in defending globalisation and free trade, as economic and geopolitical power seeps away from the West. The US under Trump, rather than leading a new multilateral front against Beijing, has embarked on a self-defeating project of isolationalism, atavistic unilateralism and economic protectionism.
The author says, when Trump’s successor takes office, “he or she should not hold any illusions about what it will take to repair the damage Trump has done. Whether it is January 2021 or 2025, merely returning to the post-war status quo will not be an option. To reinvest in the transatlantic relationship, we will first have to redefine it. The coming year would not be too early to start thinking creatively about new paths for cooperation.”
This requires international organisations and multilateral frameworks to accommodate the new poles of geopolitical power that are emerging. European leaders will need to get their act together, because a more stable EU and a stronger NATO will serve the economy and security of the West, which is in America’s national interest. Most of all, it will send a clear signal to those opposing the rules-based international order that the Transatlantic allies are ready and willing to uphold it.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Rob Benjamin Jan 19, 2019

Thank you for a very clear, concise, and important take on the damage Donald Trump is inflicting on our most important international relationships. I'm sharing it on Facebook.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.

https://prosyn.org/tEErFoK

Cookies and Privacy

PS OnPoint

The Year Ahead 2019

Transatlanticism, Interrupted

To continue reading, subscribe now.

Support High-Quality Commentary

New Comment

Email this piece to a friend

Contact us

What’s the Matter with South America?

Toward a New Fiscal Constitution

The Developing World Has an Alternative to Debt

All Eyes on Germany

Log in/Register

Cookies and Privacy

PS OnPoint

The Year Ahead 2019

Transatlanticism, Interrupted

To continue reading, subscribe now.

Support High-Quality Commentary

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification