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Trump ‘wiped the floor’ with EU – Medvedev

Brussels has agreed to sweeping trade tariffs on European exports to the US and other concessions to avoid even higher duties

FILE PHOTO: Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev. © Sputnik / Ekaterina Shtukina

FILE PHOTO: Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev. © Sputnik / Ekaterina Shtukina

The new trade agreement between the US and the EU is “completely humiliating for the Europeans,” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said.

The deal, announced on Sunday by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, includes a requirement for EU member states to increase imports of American energy and defense products. It also imposes a blanket 15% tariff on EU exports to the US – terms accepted by Brussels to avoid even steeper trade penalties.

In a social media post on Monday, Medvedev, who serves as deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, claimed that the terms of the deal meant Trump had “wiped the floor with Europe.”

“One can only feel sorry for ordinary Europeans,” Medvedev wrote. He asserted that where Trump is seeking economic benefits for American businesses, EU leaders are motivated by an ideological anti-Russian sentiment, as the deal further cements Brussels’ intention to terminate all purchases of Russian oil and gas.

The Trump administration has used tariffs as a tool to confront what it considers unfair trade practices and chronic deficits in trade with key partners. In the absence of a deal, EU products could have faced tariffs as high as 50%. Last week, Brussels prepared a list of US goods it was ready to hit with retaliatory duties if negotiations collapsed.

Medvedev and other senior Russian officials have repeatedly portrayed EU leaders as politically weak and overly compliant with Washington’s agenda, often at the expense of their own economic interests.

Russia has been especially critical of the EU’s break from Russian energy supplies, a move initiated as part of sanctions over the Ukraine conflict. Moscow contends that the resulting shift to more expensive US liquefied natural gas has contributed to the deindustrialization of major European economies.

Source: RT

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