THE GUARDIAN: America First doctrine and threat of tariffs leave EU elite wondering how it can close economic gulf with US
In the bars, hotels and windowless conference halls of the World Economic Forum in Davos, two themes dominated the conversation: America’s ascendancy and Europe’s decline.
If the scale of the continent’s problems was unclear before politicians and chief executives descended on the Swiss ski resort, there was no ambiguity by the time Donald Trump had finished speaking.
The 47th president of the US beamed via video into a packed conference hall to rail against stifling European regulation, car exports flooding to the US and fines and penalties on Apple, Google and Facebook.
No longer will members of Nato be able to freeload off America’s security guarantee, he added, demanding they increase defence spending to 5% of GDP – a barb aimed squarely at Europe.
“From the standpoint of America, the EU treats us very, very unfairly, very badly,” he said. “We have some very big complaints with the EU.” » | John Collingridge and Heather Stewart in Davos | Friday, January 24, 2025
