Europe Made Major Trade Concessions to Trump. How Did It Happen?
François Bayrou, France's prime minister, said on social media that it was a 'dark day' for Europe. Another French minister called the agreement 'unbalanced.' A left-leaning European Parliamentarian from Belgium posted a dismayed, 'What happened, Europe?'
E.U. officials offered a simple response. The situation could have become a disaster, setting off an all-out trade war.
Still, the agreement is worse for Europe than just about anyone in the bloc's upper echelons would have predicted just a few weeks ago, and even that required a combination of concessions, salesmanship and flattery.
It might nevertheless be one of the better results Europe could have obtained, said Aslak Berg, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London.
'A lot of the initial reaction is that this a political defeat, this is a humiliation for the European Union,' Mr. Berg said. He added: 'Is it what the E.U. wanted? No. Is it ideal? No. But if this agreement sticks — big if — it will provide a certain degree of predictability.'
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
France's top court strikes down pesticide clause in farming law
PARIS (AP) — France's highest court on Thursday blocked a key part of a contentious farming law that would have brought back a banned pesticide. The court said that the measure failed to protect the environment and future generations. The rest of the law — known as the 'Duplomb law,' after the senator who proposed it — was allowed to stand. The bill, passed in early July, aimed to loosen rules for farmers and fast-track projects like water storage. It was backed by the government and major farming unions, but met fierce opposition from scientists, health experts and green groups. At the heart of the outrage was acetamiprid, a pesticide banned in France since 2018 for its role in harming bees and other pollinators. Farmers, especially sugar beet growers, had pushed for its return. But the court ruled that the proposal wasn't strict enough, and ignored France's constitutional commitment to environmental protection. The backlash was swift and widespread. A student-led petition against the law drew more than 2 million signatures — one of the biggest in French history. Opponents said that the bill was rushed through parliament with barely any debate, and warned that it put public health and biodiversity at risk. The ruling is a blow to President Emmanuel Macron's government, which had defended the bill until the end. Critics called the decision a win for democracy and the planet. Some lawmakers have already vowed to push for a full repeal in the coming months. Acetamiprid is currently approved by the European Union until 2033, and authorized in other member countries. The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fed check-in: Waller reportedly top Chair pick, rate cut outlook
Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller is reportedly the top pick for Fed chair among President Trump's team, according to Bloomberg. Fed Watch Advisors founder and chief investment officer Ben Emons and StoneX senior adviser Jon Hilsenrath join Market Catalysts with Julie Hyman to discuss. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Catalysts. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller has emerged as Trump officials' top pick to replace Fed chair Jerome Powell. That's according to report from Bloomberg. Waller has met with several members of the administration. He's not yet spoken with President Trump himself though. Of course, it's not a done deal. Kevin Warsh, a former Fed official, and Kevin Hassett, currently Trump's National Economic Council director, are reportedly both still in the running. Joining me now, Ben Emmens, Fed Watch Advisors founder and chief investment officer, and John Hilsenrath, Stone X senior advisor and Yahoo Finance contributor. It does seem like and there were some reporting from Wall Street Journal today that the administration is leaning towards appointing someone to fill Adriana Kugler's seat that could then move into the Fed chair spot. Ben, I'll start with you. What do what do you make of this latest reporting on Waller sort of maybe, maybe being the front runner, at least today? Yeah, I think that he is a front runner, but he has said himself that because the president hasn't reached out to him, you know, he doesn't know for sure. And you know, he really wants to do the job. So he's clearly keen to do it. Um, but it's all the speculation around this actual chair, I think it's by far not determined because they have to fill the Adriana Kugler position first, which kind of procedural how they have to go about it. This new Fed chair or Fed member will be only in place for October meeting, not a September meeting because of the the specifics of the Senate confirmation. Yet, that position is key because it's an additional vote at the table for cutting rates. And it looks like a lot of Fed members are ready, like, moving in a direction of like we'll probably have to lower rates in September. So, it just only fuels more the rate cut speculation. I think this debate about who will be the next chair. But who will it be? That's, I think, still a guessing game. And Trump has his time, but I mean, once he puts the replacement for Kugler in place, he could take his time, that's been reported. Right. And John, what do you make it? I mean, it feels like the market is relatively comfortable with a Warsh or a Waller potentially in place here. Uh, the market seems very comfortable with a lot, uh, that's going on in the macro setting right now. Stock prices are rising, interest rates are low, but I don't think that the drama, uh, over this succession is going to end very quickly. And, you know, today we get a headline that it's that it's Waller, tomorrow we might get a headline that it's Warsh again. Uh, I'm really going to believe it when I see it, especially when the president hasn't had one-on-one time with Waller. Let's not forget that Jay Powell was a sitting Fed governor that the president chose, and he ended up becoming very unhappy with Jay Powell. The president said something the other day that sometimes you think someone is great and then he gets in the job and you're not so sure. So I I I think that we're we're moving into maybe the second or third round of this apprentice, uh, campaign and there there might be 10 episodes before the season is over. I I mean, Ben, does it, you know, what we were saying here about the changing expectations for what's going to happen with rate cuts, does that make it not moot, certainly who is the head of the Fed, but the whole politicization conversation, it seems like that comes off the boil if there are real economic underpinnings and reasons for the Fed to cut rates, right? Yeah, I think so, Julie, because it is a story about inflation, unemployment ultimately. So the reaction to this job support on Friday is telling. The Fed is quite concerned if the unemployment rate goes up too quickly and will act faster than if inflation were to go up a little bit. And they just sort of wait and see what happens with inflation before they do anything. So it is really a point here where we may repeat what happened last year in September when they surprised with 50 base points of a rate cut. It's not in markets currently, but if the unemployment rate goes up a little further from here, that becomes a a real possibility because I think the Fed does not want its forecast of 4.5% unemployment to actually materialize. They want to put in place an insurance to make sure that that actually doesn't happen. So this is really a rate cut speculation ultimately, I think. And it is more notable, as we talked at previous time, that how the tone starts to shift from one Fed member to the other member. Like I wrote today, like dominoes, like it sort of goes from one to the other. You have Muesselem today is kind of hawkish, he may have a different tone. You have Golsby next week, he's also voting member, he may start changing his tone, too. Before you know it, we have a full majority of Fed members ready to cut rates before the meeting starts. So I think that's how it plays out. Yeah. And John, we haven't had a chance to talk since the jobs report, which, as we know, came out worse than estimated. We got CPI also coming next week, which could be really telling here. So, what do you think all of this means for September? Well, I I think the market's getting ahead of itself, frankly. Uh, I think, you know, to me, the key comments that came out from the Fed since that jobs report was John Williams, who is part of Jay Powell's inner circle. And he said, in his view, the job market was still relatively solid, and they want to see more data before they make a decision. I think that the, you know, the Fed doesn't want to get pinned down to September. I think they certainly don't want to get pinned down to 50 basis points in September. Look, they did that last year, and it seems to have been a mistake. They seems to have moved too aggressively last year because inflation stopped falling. Literally, the month that the Fed uh did that 50 basis point cut, that was the low point for inflation so far in this cycle. So, you know, I think we're one bad inflation print away from them saying, "Oh, well, wait a second, you know, maybe we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves on this rate cut talk." Well, we'll see what CPI says next week. And lest we forget, we will hear from Chair Powell in Jackson Hole uh later this month as well. Ben, John, got to leave it there. Thank you so much. Related Videos Crypto stock boost, Toyota guidance cut, Zillow revenue beat Miran Talks Trump's Tariffs, Exemptions and Waller Trump to sign EO allowing crypto in 401(k)s: What it means for markets This could be Wall Street's next hot trade Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Los Angeles Times
4 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Powerful labor coalition backs redrawing California's congressional map in fight with Texas and Trump
One of California's most influential labor organizations endorsed redrawing the state's congressional maps to counter President Trump's effort to push Republican states, notably Texas, to increase his party's numbers in Congress in next year's midterm election. The California Federation of Labor Unions voted unanimously Tuesday to support putting a measure on the ballot in November. The proposal, backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and many of the state's Democratic leaders, would ask voters to temporarily change congressional district boundaries that were drawn by an independent redistricting commission four years ago, with some conditions. Republicans could potentially lose up to a half dozen seats in California's 52-member delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives. After it returns for its summer recess on Aug. 18, the California Legislature is expected to vote to place the measure on the statewide ballot in a special election. 'President Trump has said that Republicans are 'entitled' to five more congressional votes in Texas. Well, they aren't entitled to steal the 2026 election. California's unions refuse to stand by as democracy is tested,' Lorena Gonzalez, president of the federation, said in a statement. 'California Labor is unified in our resolve to fight back against President Trump's anti-worker agenda.' Redistricting — the esoteric redrawing of the nation's 435 congressional districts — typically occurs once every decade after the U.S. census tallies the population across the nation. Population shifts can result in changes in a state's allocation of congressional seats, such as when California lost a seat after the 2020 census the first time in the state's history. The political redistricting process had long been crafted by elected officials to give their political parties an edge or to protect incumbents — sometimes in brazen, bizarrely shaped districts. Californians voted in 2010 to create an independent commission to draw congressional maps based on communities of interest, logical geography and ensuring representation of minority communities. The ballot measure being pushed by Newsom and others would allow state lawmakers to help determine district boundaries for the next three election cycles if Texas approves a pending measure to reconfigure districts to increase Republican-held congressional seats in that state. Line-drawing would return to the independent commission after the 2030 census. The California Federation of Labor is committed to spending several million dollars supporting a mid-decade redistricting ballot measure, on top of what it already planned to spend on competitive congressional races next year, according to a person familiar with the plans who asked for anonymity to speak candidly about the strategy. A spokesperson for several organizations devoted to fighting any effort to change the state's redistricting process said that Charles Munger Jr., the son of a billionaire, and who bankrolled the ballot measure to create the independent commission, is committed to making sure it is not weakened. 'While Charles Munger has been out of politics since 2016, he has said he will vigorously defend the reforms he helped pass, including nonpartisan redistricting,' said Amy Thoma, spokesperson for the Voters First Coalition. 'His previous success in passing ballot measures in California means he knows exactly what is needed to be successful. We will have the resources necessary to make our coalition heard.'
