EU, Canada gave middle finger to Trump with India deals

Amid Trump's confrontational diplomacy and hostile trade policies, Europe and Canada have pivoted towards India, a more reliable and stable partner, to diversify their exports. Here's a look at how a number of countries are now thumbing their nose at the mercurial Trump.

How can countries whose economies have depended on the US for decades cope with an increasingly unreliable and hostile Trump in the White House? This has been the billion-dollar question for many amid the turmoil brought upon by Trump, whose confrontational diplomacy and tactics of weaponising tariffs have alienated allies. The perfect answer, or should we say rebuff, was given by Europe and Canada this week as both pivoted towards a more reliable and stable partner to diversify their exports. Their port of call was India.

Trump, who has been dealt a tight slap by the European Union (EU) as it signed the "mother of all trade deals" with India, must realise the bitter truth. His strong-arm trade tactics and punitive tariffs have painted the US into an uneasy corner as global economic alliances undergo a swift recalibration.

In fact, remarks by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) indicate how the US was now feeling increasingly isolated. There was no chest-thumping rhetoric, just disappointment.

"I find the Europeans very disappointing. The Europeans were unwilling to join us... because they wanted to do this trade deal," Bessent said in an interview with CNBC. The top Trump aide also accused Europe of placing trade interests above the war in Ukraine, referring to India's close ties with Russia and purchase of its oil.

However, Bessent does not appear to have taken into account the grim reality. No one likes to be bullied and depend on an unpredictable partner. This mistrust and Trump's threats over the Greenland takeover issue appear to have been a major catalyst for the EU to seal the trade deal with India, which has been under negotiation for nearly two decades.

"The Trump factor clearly helped push them over the finish line after years of talks. It's about much more than cushioning the blow of US tariffs. It also solidifies a broader, fast-growing partnership," tweeted South Asian geopolitical expert Michael Kugelman.