Johann Wadephul

Stories

Europe’s trade showdown with China: from EV tariffs to Macron’s tariff threat

Seeking to balance Germany’s economic ties with China and EU-wide hardening

In December 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron warned Europe might impose U.S.-style tariffs on Chinese goods if Beijing doesn't curb its ballooning trade surplus. In an interview after his state visit to China, Macron said the surplus is "killing" European customers and called it a "life or death" struggle for EU industry, especially autos and advanced manufacturing.

Updated May 10

Trump’s 2025 national security strategy revives Monroe Doctrine and pivots U.S. power to the Americas

Force in Play

Prominent European critic of the NSS’s rhetoric on civilizational decline

On December 5, 2025, the Trump administration released a 33-page National Security Strategy declaring a Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The document formally revives the 19th-century idea of the Western Hemisphere as a U.S. sphere of influence and promises to reassert American preeminence across the Americas.

Updated May 10

Notable Quotes

(Paraphrased) German officials accompanying Wadephul have stressed that continued economic cooperation with China depends on addressing unfair trade practices and export restrictions that threaten German industry.([reuters.com](https://www.reuters.com/world/china/german-foreign-minister-heads-beijing-berlin-toughens-china-stance-2025-12-07/?utm_source=openai))

from Europe’s trade showdown with China: from EV tariffs to Macron’s tariff threat · Updated May 10

The United States is and will remain our most important ally in the NATO alliance. But questions like freedom of expression, freedom of opinion and how we organize our liberal society are not part of that. ([kyivpost.com](https://www.kyivpost.com/post/65716?utm_source=openai))

from Trump’s 2025 national security strategy revives Monroe Doctrine and pivots U.S. power to the Americas · Updated May 10

We also don't think that anyone needs to give us any advice on this. ([npr.org](https://www.npr.org/2025/12/08/nx-s1-5637251/eu-leaders-react-with-alarm-to-trump-administrations-new-national-security-statement))

from Trump’s 2025 national security strategy revives Monroe Doctrine and pivots U.S. power to the Americas · Updated May 10