The Irish Independent's View: Clock is ticking on Trump's vicious trade sanctions deadline, so every minute counts

Irish Independent

a day ago

On Wednesday, 23 of those leaders now gathered in Brussels were in The Hague, wearing their Nato hats. They were grateful that the 76-year-old Western defence alliance survived the mercurial US president's threatened onslaught.
Trump was mollified by cringe-inducing pandering and flattery from Europe's heads of government – and a pledge to increase national defence spending to 5pc of GDP by 2035.
The majority of leaders moved yesterday from The Hague to Brussels for a dovetailing EU summit, and that short trip epitomised the blurring of boundaries between the 27-nation trading bloc and Nato. This change poses particular challenges for Ireland as one of only four EU member states that is not a Nato member.
The dispiriting reality of life since Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine in February 2022 and the mayhem built from October 2023 in Gaza spreading across the Middle East is that the world has become a very dangerous place. Rapidly increased defence spending has hit funding to tackle vital issues like child poverty, climate change and development aid. Everything is compounded by the total unpredictability of Trump.
At today's summit, the 27 EU leaders, including Taoi­seach Micheál Martin, are engaged in an urgent quest for relevance. There is a strong feeling in many European capitals of a need to switch from current immobilism to harness the EU's combined political influence. But to do that they must tackle foreign and internal issues.
If Trump carries through his threats in some fashion, Europe must respond
Among those issues is how to fund that 5pc defence- spending target. The leaders must also chart a course on the Middle East after an EU review found Israel flouting its humanitarian obligations sewn into its favourable trade deal with Brussels.
Ireland is among a group of member states rightly increasing pressure for action on change in Gaza from Israel. The Taoiseach was not exaggerating when he described the lack of action thus far as 'a stain' on the EU.
Looking eastwards, towards continuing problems arising from the crisis in Ukraine, the leaders must address concerns from Hungary and Slovakia about the planned exit from Russian energy, while also approving new sanctions on the revenue streams funding Moscow's war. And after all that they must deal with pressure to delay climate change goals.
But let us revert to the shadow of Trump. The key summit challenge – with just 12 days left before Trump's July 9 deadline on vicious trade sanctions against the EU – is framing a united response.
Ireland's huge dependence on multinational com­panies' trade with the US has long left us at risk of becoming the meat in an EU-US sandwich. If Trump carries through his threats in some fashion, Europe must respond.
Irish businesses and workers will hope an escalation of trade hostilities can be avoided, but much of that is up to Trump alone.