Transatlantic Relations under the Biden Presidency

Transcript:Transatlantic Relations under the Biden Presidency:
Transatlantic Relations under the Biden Presidency Plus Ça Change, Plus C’est la Même Chose? Dr. Sten Idris Verhoeven Introduction Under the presidency of Donald Trump, transatlantic relations were the worst in the 20th-21st century, even worse than under President George W. Bush Specific issues of tension President Trump openly questioned the continued relevance of NATO Hostile towards the EU, as an actor that engages in unfair trade (e.g. 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports from the EU), and supportive of Brexit Overtures to strongmen in Europe, especially Putin, but also within the EU (e.g. Victor Orban). Introduction Yet, these specific issues resulted from a radical different view of the Trump presidency on the nature of international relations and its relation with Europe The general policy of Trump’s administration is focus on a populist nationalism and unilateralism instead of global and multilateralism (the withdrawal of the Paris Agreement, the reneging of the Iran Nuclear Agreement, the undermining of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, the purported withdrawal of the WHO,…) Rejection of the international liberal order as meaningful, instead a transactional and zero sum approach to international relations, to the benefit of the United States Rejection of the idea of the West, that despite their many differences, there are shared common values and ideals that are intrinsic to the relation between the United States and Europe After the election of Joe Biden, there is a sense of relief in European capitals and an expectation that transatlantic relations will return to the status quo ante. Is that realistic? Has the transatlantic relation changed by the Trump Presidency? Are those chances leading to the same outcome? If so, are the causes the same? The EU’s Anticipation for a Renewed Transatlantic Relation Already in 2019, at the Munich Security Conference, Biden proclaimed “We will be back” Not surprisingly, the election of Biden as the future president has been warmly welcomed in most European capitals and already had some effect (e.g. situation in Northern Ireland in the Brexit negotiations) The end of the Trump Presidency rapidly led the EU to adopt positions for the Transatlantic relations The EU’s Anticipation for a Renewed Transatlantic Relation Council Conclusions on EU-US relations of 7 December 2020 Importance of a renewed transatlantic relation Strategic importance of the EU’s partnership with the US as the world’s foremost and closest relationship Rooted in shared values and