President Donald Trump is attempting to build a coercive coalition with the European Union, envisioning a dominant trade bloc capable of forcing geopolitical change through economic might. The first proposed mission for this coalition is to impose 100% tariffs on India and China to compel Russia to end its war in Ukraine.
This vision was laid out for EU officials in Washington, where the administration pitched a partnership based on aggressive, coordinated trade action. The US has made it clear that it sees this as a joint venture, stating it will only proceed with the tariff plan if its “European partners step up.”
The goal is to create an economic powerhouse so formidable that third-party nations like India and China would have no choice but to comply with its demands. In this case, the demand is to curtail economic ties with Russia, thereby stripping the Kremlin of its ability to fund the war.
However, building this coalition faces major obstacles. The EU may be wary of such a confrontational approach and its potential to destabilize the global economy. And the American leadership of this proposed bloc is on shaky ground, with a pending Supreme Court case threatening to strip Trump of the very authority he needs to make it a reality.