EU should wait for Trump but is prepared to work with the USA – Miranda Sarmento

The Portuguese Finance Minister said on Monday that the European Union should wait for the inauguration of the new American President, Donald Trump, to understand his policies, particularly in trade, while ensuring readiness to cooperate with the United States.

“We first need to wait, calmly, for what the decisions of the Trump administration will be, as he takes office today. We will see in the coming weeks and months what these decisions are in various areas, including the one you mentioned about trade policy, whether it will be a more aggressive trade policy only with China or if it will also include Europe, what type of products, what type of goods that are exported to the United States and goods that the United States exports to Europe. Therefore, I believe it is early,” said Joaquim Miranda Sarmento.

Speaking to Portuguese journalists in Brussels upon arrival at the Eurogroup meeting, on the day Donald Trump was inaugurated as the new American President, the Portuguese minister said, “Europe is prepared to continue collaborating with the United States, to have a strategic partnership with the United States that has lasted for decades.”

“Europe’s main focus should be its own internal problems, its low productivity, its lack of competitiveness, the productivity gap with the United States, which has substantially widened over the last 20 years, and therefore, Europe needs to look at its productivity problems, competitiveness, innovation, value creation, financial services, among others, and establish the best possible partnership with the United States,” the official added.

Regarding a possible goal of allocating 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Defense, within the scope of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Joaquim Miranda Sarmento argued that, “in a few years, it is not feasible.”

“Especially because most European countries, as we know, have very difficult budgetary situations, with high deficits, in the case of France, […] even Germany, and therefore, these countries also have more limited budgetary margins to act than Portugal’s budgetary margin,” he concluded.

The Republican Donald Trump, aged 78, won the presidential elections of November 2024 in the United States and will now begin his duties, but in the European Union, fears already arise that transatlantic relations will be affected and suffer setbacks, as happened during his last administration.