If the threats of Donald Trump prove anything, it is that the mantra of “shared values” with his administration is as much use as a chocolate teapot. Countries across the world are scrambling to adjust. Canada has announced a trade realignment towards China – and talk grows of counter-sanctions in Europe. If the UK wants to avoid being caught in the crossfire, there really is only one alternative: to finally take the brakes off rebuilding our common future in Europe.
In the past few weeks, Nato has suffered life-changing injuries. This should not be surprising, given the repeated signals from Washington, from the anti-European screed in Trump’s National Security Strategy to the harassment of President Zelenskyy at the White House. When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time and act accordingly.
On its own, the UK has limited resources and political bandwidth to withstand bullying from any direction, let alone from its allies. The very core of its defence strategy, on nuclear weapons and intelligence, is primarily intertwined with the US. The UK has already reportedly promised a contingent of up to 7,500 troops to monitor a hypothetical peace in Ukraine – but even deploying that number would be stretching the British army to its limits.
The conclusion is inescapable: now is the time for the UK to reinforce, not wreck Europe’s security relationships, both through the European pillar of Nato and through cooperation with the EU. That means developing its own military capabilities as the US pulls back, as well as exploring a UK role in potential decision-making bodies such as a European security council. Labour should lead the charge for these new alliances and roles, not wait to be dragged into making them. Not only does Britain face tariffs, the US is also demanding it bends to their trade standards, and so diverge further from Europe. Capitulating to this would be a form of self-harm at a time when Trump is proving how little worth his past promises of a trade deal carry.
You know, for a banker Carney is terrible at math. China gets to send 49,000 EVs while Canada gets to send more pet food (!). I couldn’t find anything about oil or canola exports to China. Ontario’s Doug Ford was quite unhappy.
The Post editorial board has become another Trump propaganda outlet under Bezos. Meanwhile, the rest of our onetime allies are struggling to find more trustworthy partners to conduct their business with:
Regardless of what you think of WaPo, the Chinese EV deal is going to be, shall we say, disruptive. This can be seen by the reaction from the head of Canada’s most populous province (and where their auto industry is located).
That has lost significance since Bezos took over. The WaPo editorial board is no longer coming from the left of center. Yes, the various media bias rating entities still say otherwise but their last review was in 2021.
Where do you think the EU just got the idea from? It was the UK.
Google Query AI
Yes, the UK and India signed a historic Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in July 2025, which aims to significantly boost bilateral trade by cutting tariffs on 90% of UK exports to India and 99% of Indian goods entering the UK. The agreement, which was officially concluded in May 2025 after years of negotiations, will drastically reduce tariffs on Scotch whisky, automobiles, and machinery, and is expected to take full effect after ratification.
In Canada, most provinces don’t produce cars, and produce very few car parts. So the people in those provinces want cheap Chinese cars, and the way the numbers look, the Chinese companies will capture a large part of the Canadian auto market. That will cause auto production in Canada to drop. And that will affect the provinces (one, really) that makes cars and car parts.
A similar thing is happening in Europe. Only 2 or 3 European countries have meaningful car industries. Meanwhile, the people in the member states that don’t have much of a car business want cheaper Chinese cars. And when Europe allows a flood of Chinese cars to be sold, the European car business will suffer greatly.