The political scientist accused Trump of wanting to break up the European Union

US President Donald Trump may be trying to break up the European Union (EU), including by imposing import duties. This opinion was expressed by political scientist Konstantin Kalachev on Tuesday, April 8.

According to him, the American leader is setting very strict conditions for Europe to postpone the introduction of new tariffs in the form of compensation for a trade deficit of $350 billion. According to Kalachev, this could divide the countries of the union.

He noted that it would be extremely difficult for the countries to work out a unified position. Each European country independently solves the problems of energy security.

"Like, for example, Hungary and Slovakia, which retain contracts with Russia. There are also those who focus on Norwegian gas and other sources. Trump's current conditions are an attempt to shake up Europe, raise the bar, and then lower it in dialogue with specific states," Kalachev said in a conversation with Lenta.Ru .

According to the political scientist, it will be difficult to work out an agreed position, primarily due to the varying degrees of dependence on the United States. He pointed to Poland, which is extremely dependent on the United States, Hungary and Slovakia, which support Trump's policy, as well as France and Germany, which would like to get out of American custody.

"Trump operates on the principle of "divide and rule." His task is to divide Europe in order to further negotiate with each country individually. In fact, he is destroying the European Union, trying to destabilize it," Kalachev said.

He admitted that Europe could work out some kind of compromise proposal, but Trump understands that everyone wants to reach a separate agreement without incurring additional burdens.

Pay the bet: US tariffs are splitting the European Union

Which countries opposed the introduction of retaliatory measures

Earlier, Trump said at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the European Union would have to commit to buying energy from the United States, RT reports.

He noted that the US trade deficit with the European Union is $350 billion. According to Trump, it will quickly disappear, as Europe will have to commit to buying a similar amount of energy resources from the United States.

In turn, Dmitry Belik, a member of the State Duma's International Affairs Committee, said that the new tariffs imposed by Trump were exacerbating Europe's economic problems. 360.ru .

On April 2, Trump announced large-scale trade measures: base tariffs of 10% are being introduced for all products supplied to the United States. For the EU, this figure has been raised to 20%, and for China — to 34%. On April 4, China imposed duties of 34% against the United States.