London: European leaders fear a “disintegration” of the American alliance after US President Donald Trump imposed higher car tariffs on their countries and outlined plans to withdraw troops from Germany, while signalling he may do more to scale back security ties.
The sudden tariff increase, from 15 to 25 per cent, is tipped to cost Germany about €15 billion ($24 billion) in lost output and will also hurt car and truck industries in the Czech Republic, France, Slovakia and Sweden.
The US troop withdrawal is deepening concerns about European security, not only because it will remove 5000 soldiers but because the Pentagon will also halt a long-planned deployment of long-range Tomahawk missiles in Germany, seen as fundamental to deterring Russia.
Trump heightened the latest clash with Europe at the weekend when he told reporters in Florida on Saturday that he would go beyond the troop withdrawal announced by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth the previous day.
“We’re going to cut way down, and we’re cutting a lot further than 5000,” he said.
Trump has also named Italy and Spain as countries that could face the withdrawal of US forces, but he has complained in particular about Germany after its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, last week said the US was being “humiliated” by Iran.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned at the weekend that the trans-Atlantic alliance was under greater pressure from its members than its enemies, though he did not name Trump or Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The greatest threat to the trans-Atlantic community are not its external enemies, but the ongoing disintegration of our alliance,” he said on social media.
“We must all do what it takes to reverse this disastrous trend.”
European Union leaders arrived in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on Sunday (the early hours of Monday, AEST) for a summit that presented a show of force for like-minded allies, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney joining the talks.
Tusk said the summit should send a signal that Europe’s friendship with America was a “common responsibility” with no alternative.
“We need each other more than ever before. Our allies can always count on Poland,” he said.
Also attending the summit are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and many EU leaders.
Trump shook hands on a tariff deal with von der Leyen last July that was meant to leave US tariffs at 15 per cent for a range of European exports, including cars and trucks, but the agreement was thrown into doubt in January when the US president threatened higher tariffs as part of his demand for control of Greenland.
While he retreated on Greenland, the public argument delayed the European ratification of the trade deal while European parliament legislators considered whether they could trust a White House promise on trade.
On Friday, Trump accused the EU of failing to comply with the July deal and said he would introduce higher tariffs in the week ahead.
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy estimated this would cost Germany about €15 billion.
The head of the European parliament’s trade committee, Bernd Lange, is calling for a vigorous response.
“This latest move demonstrates just how unreliable the US side is,” Lange said on Friday.
“This is no way to treat close partners. Now we can only respond with the utmost clarity and firmness, drawing on the strength of our position.”
Lange argued that the EU was honouring the July agreement while the US flouted its promises on products such as steel and aluminium, hurting European exporters.
The European summit in Yerevan continues on Monday and provides a forum for leaders to discuss a joint response to Trump on trade and security.
The Pentagon’s plan to withdraw troops from Germany is slightly smaller than the removal of 7000 troops from the country in 2012 when Barack Obama was president, but the Trump administration has combined the troop decision with other moves that weaken NATO defences.
The Pentagon began plans in 2024, under president Joe Biden, to deploy a full battalion to Germany to support Tomahawk cruise missiles as well as hypersonic missiles known as “Dark Eagle” weapons.
This was intended to deter Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Hegseth’s decision to cancel that plan drew criticism from Republicans in Congress.
“Prematurely reducing America’s forward presence in Europe before those capabilities are fully realised risks undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin,” said Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers, who chair the Senate and House armed services committees, respectively.
Meanwhile, a new US survey at the weekend showed that a majority of American voters disapproved of Trump’s handling of the Iran war and his treatment of allies.
Trump’s overall disapproval rating was 62 per cent, the highest of his two terms in office, in the poll by The Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos.
When the poll asked voters about how Trump was handling relations with US allies, 65 per cent disapproved and 33 per cent approved, with a small proportion skipping the question.
With Reuters
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David Crowe is Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.