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The Guardian
44 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Europe's trade deal with the US was dead on arrival – it needs to be buried. Here's how to do it
Ursula von der Leyen's Turnberry golf course deal has been rightly called a capitulation and a humiliation for Europe. Assuming such an accord would put an end to Donald Trump's coercion and bullying was either naive or the result of a miserable delusion. The EU should now steel itself and reject the terms imposed by Trump. Is this deal really as bad as it sounds? Unfortunately, it is, for at least three reasons. The blow to Europe's international credibility is incalculable in a world that expects the EU to stand up for reciprocity and rules-based trade, to resist Washington's coercion as Canada, China and Brazil have, rather than condoning it. Economically, it's a damaging one-way street: EU exporters lose market access in the US while the EU market is hit by more favoured US competition. Core European industrial sectors such as pharma and steel and aluminium are left by the wayside. The balance also tilts in the US's favour in important sectors such as consumer goods, food and drink, and agriculture. Tariffs tend to stick, so this is long-term damage. The EU even gives up its right to respond to future US pressures through duties on digital services or network fees. To top it off, von der Leyen's defence and investment pledges (for which she had no mandate) go against Europe's interest. The EU's competitiveness predicament is precisely one of net investment outflows. As international capital now reallocates under the pressures of Trumponomics and a weakening dollar, the case for Europe to become a strategic investment power was strengthening. Von der Leyen's promise of $600bn in EU investment in the US is therefore disastrous messaging. How could this happen? All EU member states wanted to avoid Trump's 30% tariff threat and a trade war, but none perhaps as much as Germany and Ireland, supported by German carmakers and US big tech firms. Yet Irish sweetheart digital tax deals, as well as BMW and Mercedes's plans to move production hubs to the US (also to serve the EU market), cannot be Europe's future. EU governments were distinctly unhelpful in building the EU's negotiating position. But in the end, it was von der Leyen who blinked and she has to take responsibility. Her close team took control in the closing weeks and went into the final meeting manifestly prepared only to say yes, which made Trump's steamrolling inevitable. Let's think of the counterfactual: if von der Leyen had stepped into the room and rejected these terms, Trump's wrath and some market turmoil may have ensued. But ultimately it would very likely have come to a postponement, a new negotiation and, at some point, a different deal that would not be so lopsided or unilaterally trade away deep and long-term European interests and principles. Instead, von der Leyen became a supplicant to a triumphant Trump. The situation is reminiscent of the final rounds of the Brexit negotiations five years ago when von der Leyen similarly was giving in to unacceptable demands from Boris Johnson, only to U-turn under pressure from a steelier EU chief negotiator and a quartet of member states. Today, von der Leyen runs Brussels with a strong presidential hand and has largely done away with internal checks and balances inside the commission. That is her prerogative and her style, but the upshot should not be weak, ineffective and unprincipled dealings on Europe's major geopolitical challenges, from Trump to Gaza. The 'deal' in Scotland is in reality an unstable interim accord. Nothing is yet inked or signed; Washington and Brussels are already locking horns on its interpretation and negotiations on the finer (and broader) points are ongoing. The 27 EU governments will inevitably get involved as the final deal needs to be translated into an international agreement and EU law. Some big powers – Germany and Italy seemingly – are on board, reluctant or not. However, internal political dynamics may change their calculations. Opposition parties and rightwing contenders who are a real political threat to leaders in Germany and France are already lambasting the deal. Unless von der Leyen strikes a dirty bargain with the member states, the European parliament will also have a say. The longtime chair of its trade committee, Bernd Lange, has set the tone for how the deal would be viewed there, calling it 'asymmetry set in stone' and even 'a misery'. As details seep out on what von der Leyen has really agreed to and what the US expects from the EU, and all the consequences become clear, an already unpalatable deal may become even more so. Weakening US economic data and returning stock market jitters show that Trump's negotiation footing is fragile. His new tariff threats come with new extensions, up to 90 days in the case of Mexico, as his position is overstretched. For Europe, the lesson from the Brexit negotiations – one that von der Leyen ought to have grasped before now – is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. There is now an opportunity for EU governments and the European parliament to course correct and salvage something from this train wreck. Georg Riekeles is the associate director of the European Policy Centre, and Varg Folkman is policy analyst at the European Policy Centre
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
India will buy Russian oil despite Trump's threats, NYT reports
Aug 2 (Reuters) - Indian officials have said they would keep purchasing oil from Russia despite the threat of penalties that U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose, the New York Times reported on Saturday. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
How one entrepreneur turned a derelict basement into a stunning store using pre-loved materials and DIY YouTube videos
The household Kate Blower, creative director and founder of café and lifestyle store Resinn, her partner and head coffee-roaster Erik Ohrstrom, and their two children. The project When Ohrstrom was made redundant while Blower was heavily pregnant during lockdown, her first reaction was to panic about paying the mortgage. Then she realised the solution to their financial predicament could lie in the basement of their four-storey townhouse in Sunderland. The space, now pop-up coffee shop and lifestyle store Resinn, was originally uninhabitable and plagued by damp. There were no electrics or plumbing, and the layout was a maze of corridors formed by stud walls – remnants from when the property had been used as student accommodation. The renovation took six months. The cost ★ Labour (rewiring the basement, adding smoke alarms and outdoor lighting): £2,000 ★ Gas-supply connection, including a full boiler service: £400 ★ Wall excavation: £800 ★ Building materials: £1,000 ★ Furniture and coffee-station equipment: £1,700 TOTAL: £5,900 The first steps 'You don't need a pot of money to start a business; you just need an idea,' says Blower, in reference to the early days of Resinn. 'Erik is a trained barista, so he could make pour-over coffee using our kitchen kettle, and my sister is a baker who could contribute homemade cakes.' Blower had honed her design skills earlier through running an Airbnb business and from working at Urban Outfitters and H&M in Sweden for 15 years, before moving to Sunderland. 'We combined forces to get the business off the ground,' she says. Blower sourced a selection of marble bistro tables for £50 each from Facebook Marketplace and paired them with a few plain black tables from Ikea. Seating includes secondhand chapel chairs she bought from an Instagram seller in Manchester, sent via an online business that connects you with delivery companies that bid to transport goods.'I managed to get 21 chairs sent to me for £70,' she says. Shelves were stocked with affordable decorative items that complemented the coffee offering, such as mugs, small plates and breakfast bowls, which Blower found in charity shops. Then she invited the local community to come and experience the space. 'I thought it would last a few months, but people kept coming,' she says. 'I think a key selling point was that customers got to walk through part of our house to reach the basement. They loved seeing through the keyhole!' In fact, it's been such a success that Blower is launching Resinn's first standalone store and café on separate premises, due to open in Sunderland in October. The existing features Prior to the renovation, Blower had no idea that there was a bare-brick fireplace and chimney in the basement. 'It was boarded up with cement, breeze blocks and horrible woodchip wallpaper,' she says. She stripped the wallpaper and chipped away the cement to reveal the fireplace and make it a focal point. The basement's lime-plaster walls were left to shine, with Blower touching up any areas once damaged by damp with a coat of black paint. 'I left any original markings and shapes from earlier renovations on display,' she says. 'They tell the story of the space while creating a natural mural.' Blower repainted the floor, which had been hidden beneath carpet and covered with glue, using an eco-friendly sealant from 'It contains natural silicone, which prevents the floor from cracking,' she says. The original windows and high ceilings remain intact. The DIY hacks Most of the renovation budget was swallowed up by paying for the installation of electrics and plumbing, along with the removal of the stud walls from the property's student-accommodation days. 'We couldn't afford to hire tradesmen for everything, so we taught ourselves how to build items through research and YouTube tutorials,' says Blower, whose own DIY tutorials have since amassed a loyal following on Instagram. The new timber staircase, which leads down from the hallway to the basement, is a case in point. It was designed and sketched by Blower and built by herself and Ohrstrom. 'It's the bare bones of a staircase,' she says. 'There are no fancy bits or trimmings.' She coated it with Osmo Oil, which helps enhance the natural character of the wood while making it resistant to stains and scuffs. Minimalist twin-slot shelving, a wall-mounted system consisting of uprights with two vertical slots and brackets that slide into the slots, feature throughout. Blower fitted these with birch plywood shelves from B&Q ( that she stained black. 'It's so much cheaper than buying new shelves, and this way you can achieve the exact look you're after,' she says. The 'yarden' space As Resinn grew in popularity, Blower extended the space into the courtyard. 'It was originally a concrete slab, with one mud patch and an old waste pipe sticking out of the ground where there used to be an outhouse,' she says. Blower couldn't afford to dig it all up and re-landscape, so she poured gravel over the concrete and converted the mud patch into the main flowerbed. Blower built her own planters with reclaimed timber from a local reclamation yard, and filled them with evergreen plants for low maintenance. Plant pots from Home Bargains were grouped together for a container-garden effect and to create depth. 'It also means I can move them around whenever I fancy a change,' she says. Finally, Blower mounted ladders on walls to support climbing plants, and built a dining table using recycled fencing. 'Making a table may sound scary, but it's just a frame with a top and four legs,' she says. 'YouTube is a wealth of information. Just start small.'
