European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has once again publicly defended the trade pact struck with Donald Trump, even as criticism across Europe intensifies and the fine print of the deal confirms what many see as a strategic setback for the Union.
In an op-ed for the Spanish daily El Mundo, von der Leyen described the agreement as a “deliberate” choice to avoid a full-blown trade war. “This negotiation reflects a conscious choice: stability and predictability over escalation and confrontation,” she wrote. According to her, an open conflict with Washington would have been cheered by Moscow and Beijing, eager to see the transatlantic alliance weakened.
In reality, the deal imposes a flat 15% tariff on the vast majority of European products—including cars and pharmaceuticals—with the sole exceptions of generic medicines and certain aircraft components. That means Europe has effectively resigned itself to punitive tariffs hitting strategic sectors such as innovative pharmaceuticals and medical technology, industries that have already warned of immediate cost increases and risks to supply chains.
Industry associations, including the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and MedTech Europe, have cautioned that the measures will harm patients and undermine industrial competitiveness. Every imported syringe and pacemaker is now subject to a 15% surcharge, while branded pharmaceuticals will face the same levy once the ongoing U.S. national security investigation concludes.
The only relief came for the generics sector, which secured a last-minute exemption. Even so, representatives concede that the overall picture is “mixed” at best and represents little more than a partial reprieve.
Nevertheless, von der Leyen continues to frame the outcome as “solid,” while admitting it is “not perfect.” The Commission chief stressed that the EU is the only global player to have secured a single tariff cap and argued the framework “can be expanded over time” to cover more sectors and exemptions. Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič also defended the deal as a “first step” that could, in theory, open the door to future improvements.
But internal criticism is growing louder. In an analysis for europeanconservative.com, London barrister and former MEP Gunnar Beck wrote,
the parameters agreed upon are so heavily skewed in favour of the United States that many analysts have expressed doubts about whether the EU may even be able to meet its commitments.
Throughout its history, and contrary to European delusions of adequacy, the EU has always been the junior partner of the U.S. in a progressively asymmetric transatlantic relationship. Von der Leyen, with her calamitous policy mix of open-door mass migration, COVID shutdowns, and the green transformation and deindustrialisation of the European economies, has hastened the widening power imbalance between Europe and America.
Mario Draghi, former Italian prime minister and ex-president of the European Central Bank, declared that 2025 will be remembered as the year when “the illusion of the European Union as a global actor evaporated.” For Draghi, the deal symbolizes Europe’s capitulation to its main ally, accepting conditions that put into question the strategic autonomy so often proclaimed in Brussels.
