Press

Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, placed Trump’s second presidency among seismic historical events, comparing it to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 9/11 attacks. He warned that tariffs increase inflation, restrict trade, hinder growth, and introduce significant uncertainty into the global economy. Yet he also identified unexpected benefits: Trump’s tariffs are inadvertently strengthening European unity, restoring Germany’s leadership role within the EU, and nudging post-Brexit Britain closer to the European continent.

“The [European Central Bank] has the most ironclad independence of any central bank in the world,” said Sander Tordoir, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform and a former ECB staffer. “So if you’re worried about central bank independence, I think most investors will probably just have a bit more exposure to Europe and a little bit less to the US.”

Ian Bond, deputy director at the Center for European Reform, believes “it would be extremely difficult to make the case that Canada is a European country” for several reasons.Even if it were to pass the test of so-called Europeanness, “practical economics” would get in the way, he said.

As Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform points out, Donald Trump’s second presidency is certainly shaking up the geopolitical landscape. But he says most of the consequences are “harmful, but some are beneficial.”

Als de wereldhandel echt instort, wordt Europa vanwege zijn omvangrijke export het hardst geraakt van de grote handelsblokken, zegt econoom Sander Tordoir van denktank Centre for European Reform. Maar in de huidige situatie komt de grootste pijn terecht bij de VS en bij China.