At Donald Trump's Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen handed the United States a major win and Europe a stinging defeat.

What was billed as a breakthrough trade deal to avert a full-blown transatlantic tariff war instead exposed the European Union's internal divisions and its growing inability to stand up to American economic pressure. At its core is a 15% tariff on most EU exports to the US, triple the current average, which is a concession widely viewed across Europe as a humiliating capitulation.

The agreement, struck just days before Trump was set to impose punitive 30% tariffs, has been met with sharp criticism from EU member states and institutions alike. But more than just a trade deal, it is being seen as a symbolic moment of European weakness, a moment when Brussels, under pressure and lacking unity, bent to the whims of a combative US president.

France: 'Dark day' for Europe 

French Prime Minister François Bayrou didn't mince words. "It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, brought together to affirm their common values and to defend their common interests, resigns itself to submission," he wrote on X.

Bayrou's comments echoed a broader sense of unease across Europe. French trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin went further, accusing the EU of failing to respond to Trump's "power struggle" with the kind of force necessary. "Donald Trump only understands force," he said in a radio interview. "It would have been better to respond by showing our capacity to retaliate earlier." 

The sentiment was shared by other European officials. Benjamin Haddad, France's minister for Europe, described the deal as "unbalanced", urging the bloc to activate its so-called anti-coercion mechanism, which is a largely untested tool that would allow the EU to retaliate with non-tariff measures.

Even within the European Parliament, criticism was swift. Bernd Lange, chair of the trade committee, called the agreement "not satisfactory", adding that "concessions have clearly been made that are difficult to accept."

Germany: Relief amid damage

Germany, Europe's largest economy and a major exporter to the US, welcomed the deal but with reservations. Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged that the agreement averted a potentially damaging trade war but admitted that Germany would still face "substantial damage" from the new tariffs.

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The deal, Merz said, "could not have been better," a telling admission that underscores the EU's weakened negotiating position.

Hungary: EU 'steamrolled' by Trump

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán offered perhaps the harshest critique, comparing Trump to a heavyweight boxer and von der Leyen to a featherweight. "Trump steamrolled the EU in negotiations," Orbán said in a podcast interview, according to Reuters.

Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever struck a more diplomatic tone but still expressed disappointment. "This is a moment of relief but not of celebration," he wrote on X, calling on the U.S. to return to the principles of free trade.

Von der Leyen's weak hand

Critics argue that von der Leyen's failure to rally EU member states behind a unified strategy ultimately doomed the bloc's negotiating position. Despite warnings from officials that retaliatory measures, including tariffs on US tech giants and restrictions on American access to EU public procurement, were on the table, member states refused to authorize their use.

"They had the tools to push back, but they didn't," said David Collins, a professor of international economic law at City St George's University of London. "This is a humiliating capitulation on behalf of the EU … it really makes you wonder: What is it actually doing for its member states?"

The contrast with other trading partners has only intensified scrutiny. While the UK managed to secure a 10% tariff rate in its recent deal with Trump, the EU accepted 15% and gave up far more in return. Some EU officials privately acknowledge that von der Leyen's delegation appeared unprepared to match Trump's aggressive tactics with equivalent resolve.

Economic fallout and strategic retreat

The economic implications of the deal are already being felt. European exporters, particularly in the automotive sector, now face tariffs nearly three times higher than before. Analysts estimate that the new trade terms could cost the EU economy tens of billions of euros in lost revenue and investment.

More concerning, however, is the strategic retreat the deal represents. The EU's commitment to invest $600 billion in the US and purchase $750 billion in American energy, much of it fossil fuels, signals a reversal of the bloc's recent push for energy independence and strategic autonomy.

"This state of affairs is not satisfactory and cannot be sustained," said France's minister Haddad, reflecting a broader concern that the EU is once again allowing its security fears to override its economic interests.

Broader pattern of submission

The EU's handling of the trade talks fits a broader pattern of submission to US economic pressure. Where the UK managed to secure a 10% tariff rate in its recent deal with Trump, the EU accepted 15% and gave up far more in return.

"This is not just a bad trade deal. It's a betrayal of Europe's long-term interests," said Carsten Brzeski, Global Head of Macro at ING Research. "The big caveat to today's deal is that there is nothing on paper, yet. Any assessment has to be taken with more than only one pinch of salt."

As Europe grapples with the fallout, one thing is clear: the bloc's inability to act as a unified force has left it vulnerable to the kind of transactional politics that Trump has made his trademark. And with von der Leyen at the helm, critics say, Europe continues to negotiate from a position of weakness, even when it doesn't have to.

Until EU leaders find the political will to empower Brussels with real trade authority and the resolve to use it, deals like this one will continue to define Europe's place in the world: not as a sovereign power, but as a willing subordinate.