Orban Criticizes EU Trade Deal with Trump as ‘Bad Deal’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has launched a sharp critique of the EU’s recent trade deal with the United States, calling it a ‘bad deal’ due to its unfavorable terms for the European Union. Orban asserted that US President Donald Trump dominated the negotiations, leaving the EU in a worse position than the United Kingdom, which recently signed a more favorable trade agreement with Washington.
The trade pact, finalized on Sunday after months of tense negotiations, includes a 15% tariff on EU exports to the United States, higher than the 10% tariff imposed on British imports. In contrast, American goods sold in the EU will face no retaliatory duties. The EU has also pledged to invest $600 billion in US industries, purchase $750 billion worth of American energy, and buy hundreds of billions of dollars in US weapons over the next three years, according to Trump.
Orban expressed skepticism about who would bear the financial burden of these commitments, noting that the European Commission, the president of which signed the deal, lacks its own army and the capital to fund such purchases. ‘In whose name was the agreement made?’ he questioned.
Other EU officials have also criticized the deal as lopsided. French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou accused the bloc of caving to US coercion, while Benjamin Haddad, France’s minister in charge of European affairs, called the agreement ‘unbalanced’ and urged Brussels to retaliate economically. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned in a speech that the deal would ‘clearly’ lead to the ‘further deindustrialization of Europe and capital flight.’
Furthermore, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev stated that ‘Trump wiped the floor with Europe.’ These criticisms reflect broader concerns about the EU’s economic vulnerability and the potential long-term consequences of the trade pact.
As the EU grapples with the implications of this agreement, questions remain about the effectiveness of its trade strategy and the ability to negotiate on equal terms with the United States. The political and economic ramifications of this deal are expected to have significant impacts on the bloc’s future policies and international standing.