Trump dominates von der Leyen during trade talks
(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump outmatched European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during recent trade negotiations, delivering a deeply unfavorable agreement for the European Union, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban claimed on Monday. The deal, finalized on Sunday after months of high-level talks, has drawn sharp criticism from several European leaders.
“This was no agreement... Donald Trump ate Ursula von der Leyen for breakfast,” Orban said in a podcast interview, suggesting that the EU had been thoroughly outmaneuvered. He argued that the deal is worse than the one the US signed with the UK just weeks earlier and warned that making it work in the long term would be extremely difficult.
Under the terms of the EU-US pact, European exports to the US will now face a 15% tariff, while American goods entering the EU market will not be subject to any comparable duties. By contrast, the UK’s agreement with Washington set a 10% tariff on British imports.
Beyond tariffs, the deal includes sweeping EU financial commitments to the US. Brussels has agreed to invest $600 billion in American industries, purchase $750 billion worth of US energy, and spend “hundreds of billions” on US-manufactured weapons over the next three years, according to President Trump. Von der Leyen confirmed the investment plans but has not addressed the growing backlash within the bloc.
Orban raised concerns over the logistics and legality of the deal, questioning how the European Commission could afford such large-scale spending. “The European Commission does not have its own army, nor the financial capacity to buy US arms and energy,” he said. “In whose name was the agreement made?”
Criticism of the trade pact is spreading across the continent. French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou accused the EU leadership of folding under US pressure. France’s minister for European affairs, Benjamin Haddad, echoed this sentiment, describing the agreement as “unbalanced” and urging Brussels to pursue economic retaliation to restore parity.
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