European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with Donald Trump, Turnberry, Scotland, July 27, 2025 (Andrew Harnik/Getty)
EA on Times Radio: Trump in Scotland, Recognition of Palestine, UK Troubles, and Ozzy and Birmingham
EA-Times Radio VideoCast: Trump’s Chaos — Epstein, Australia-UK, Federal Reserve, and Tariffs
I joined Poland’s TVP World on Sunday night for a 14-minute discussion, just after Donald Trump and the European Union’s Ursula von der Leyen announced a framework deal limiting the damage from Trump’s tariffs.
I analyze why the EU accepted the framework, despite the significant rise in duties — first hitting American importers, manufacturers, and consumers — under the arrangement.
My immediate reading is that the EU didn’t want these tariffs, given the current average tariff is 2.5%. However, the EU is calculating that people are going to hurt by this in the US and there will be a demand on the Trump Administration to pull back.
I explain how, with details still to be confirmed, a chaotic Trump could undo the agreement.
And I consider the Trump Administration’s current position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the restoration of military aid to Kyiv more important — for now — than Trump’s “50-day window” for toughened sanctions on Moscow.
