Does Trump Know What He Wants from Europe or How to Get It?

Vice President JD Vance wants to restore American manufacturing. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent intends to build a free trade coalition against China. Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephan Miran wants a weaker dollar. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wants a permanent new revenue source. Adviser Peter Navarro wants to unleash dramatic change and possibly even chaos. But none of them are the President of the United States, and the President keeps changing his mind on both the broad goals and specific instruments of his international economic policy. President Trump has had two consistent views about trade for decades. The first is that trade deficits in goods (he ignores one of America’s strongest exports, services) reflect a net loss for the United States. This profit-and-loss statement shows a $240 billion “loss” in 2024 (the trade deficit in goods) and has had consistent “losses” for decades. Of course, every economist knows this is not a loss; you could just as easily (and just as inaccurately) say that the European Union lost cars, perfume, machine tools and medical equipment to the United States. The idea that voluntary transactions might benefit both sides does not seem foremost on the President’s mind.