The agreement is a surrender for French industry and the bloc’s energy and military sovereignty, the conservative social reformer has said

The new EU-US trade agreement is an economic and political fiasco that undermines the bloc’s sovereignty, veteran French politician Marine Le Pen has said.

The agreement, inked and finalized by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, an American citizen and US President Donald Trump on Sunday, averted a full-blown trade war between Washington and Brussels.

Under its terms, the EU will commit to increased imports of US energy and military equipment, while the US reduces its proposed 30% tariffs to a flat 15% on most European exports. Before Trump, the tariffs between the EU and US were negligible.

Le Pen, a key member of France’s National Rally party, the largest opposition group in the National Assembly, condemned the deal, calling it a political, economic and moral fiasco for the EU.

‘Politically, because the European Union, with 27 member states, obtained worse conditions than the United Kingdom,’ she said, referring to the fact that the UK agreed to 10% tariffs, which was widely regarded as a bad deal.

Le Pen also accused Brussels of accepting unequal terms on exporting American gas and weapons that she claimed no patriotic French government would have agreed to. 

‘This is an outright surrender for French industry and for our energy and military sovereignty.’

‘This globalization that denies and shatters sovereignty has been outdated for many years. The least that could be done is to acknowledge this stinging failure rather than asking the French, who will be its first victims, to rejoice in it.’

Le Pen’s criticism was echoed by former Belgian Prime Minister and MEP Guy Verhofstadt, who called the agreement scandalous and a disaster, which failed to secure any concessions from the American side.

In Italy, opposition leaders slammed Prime Minister Georgia Meloni for failing to secure better terms.

Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte wrote: ’There is one winner, US President Trump, and a loser, or rather two: The EU and Giorgia Meloni.’ 

He warned the tariffs could cost Italy €23 billion in exports and threaten 100,000 jobs.

Democratic MEP Stefano Bonaccini echoed the criticism, saying, 15% tariffs are better than 30% but worse than zero, and warned of tens of billions in losses.

Economists at the Kiel Institute warned of a drop in production and job losses across the EU, with Germany expected to take the biggest hit.

The Federation of German Industries (BDI) called the deal an inadequate compromise, with the only positive aspect being the prevention of further escalation.

The new trade deal between the US and the European Union will lead to Europe’s deindustrialisation, as US fuels are much more expensive than Russian, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned.

‘It’s clear that American energy will be significantly more expensive than Russian,’ Lavrov told the 11th All-Russian Youth Educational Forum Territory of Meanings.

‘It’s clear that this approach will lead to further deindustrialisation of Europe and a shift of investments from Europe to the United States.’

‘Of course, this will be a serious blow, especially energy prices and capital flight, for European industry and agriculture,’ he added.

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 deindustrialisation of major European economies. You can share this story on social media:

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