How Europe could benefit from Trump’s second term

AMERICAN voters have decided to give former president Donald Trump a second chance. The rest of the world must now accept this reality and adjust accordingly. This is especially true for Europe, which has long depended on the United States’ security umbrella and, more recently, on access to its vast consumer market.

Europe’s most pressing security concern is the deteriorating military situation in Ukraine. But having failed to ramp up its own military production, there is little that the European Union can do at this point except wait for the outcome of Trump’s promised negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While the situation in Ukraine appears bleak, the outlook is far more optimistic on the trade front. The EU is the world’s largest exporter, with exports accounting for roughly 25 per cent of its gross domestic product – a significantly higher share than the US. Given that the US is the bloc’s largest export market, the return of Trump – a self-declared “tariff man” – seems like a serious threat.