EU competition chief says Trump upended US-Europe ties

London (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – European Union competition chief says U.S. President Donald Trump has upended the “trustful relationship” between the U.S. and Europe and that the European Union should concentrate on restoring the predictability and stability that is absent in the U.S.

Teresa Ribera, First Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition and Commissioner for Competitiveness and the second most powerful official at the EU Commission after von der Leyen, briefed Reuters that while Europe must negotiate with the Washinton and attend its considerations on trade, it should not be moved into making modifications to regulations that have been endorsed by lawmakers.

 In an interview in London, slamming Trump’s transactional approach to politics, she said,

“We need to stick to our strengths and principles.” 

“We need to be flexible but we cannot transact on human rights nor are we going to transact on the unity of Europe, and we are not going to transact on democracy and values.”

“If there is a problem, a point of concern, please explain that. It is not like bullying – that you can expect to enter the negotiating table. That doesn’t make sense,” Ribera stated.

How has Trump disrupted US-EU trust and cooperation?

Trump and other members of his administration have slammed the European Union for having too many regulations and indicated fines levied on U.S. tech firms by the EU as a type of “taxation”.

Last week, U.S. Vice President JD Vance expressed that European Union “commissars” were restricting free speech due to provisions in the EU’s Digital Services Act that offer the EU powers in urgent circumstances to temporarily limit access to an online platform or search engine.

Tensions are flying high between the US and EU after Trump decided to set 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium, reciprocal tariffs from April, and respective tariffs on cars, medicinesand semiconductor chips.

What are Europe’s demands for stable transatlantic trade?

Moreover, Ribera emphasised the lack of certainty and predictability across the Atlantic compared with Europe, stating that was not what business desired in the long term.

“They want an ecosystem and a legal framework that provides certainty, stability and predictability and I wonder why we do not hear this question being raised the other way round towards Trump’s administration.

“I don’t see any predictability, stability or affordability in these announcements, this is a little bit shocking.”