THE dispute between US President Donald Trump and Europe is heating up.
Controversial Trump this week stepped up his threats to the European Union over trade tariffs.
The US Prez says he is planning to hit goods made in the European Union with tariffs of 25 per cent.
He also claimed that the bloc was created to “screw the US”.
But the European Union hit back, insisting it would react “firmly and immediately against unjustified tariffs”.
The EU warned that the moment the tariffs are announced by the US, it would trigger tough countermeasures.
With the trans-Atlantic rift deepening, Dublin MEP Aodhan O Riordain, has branded Trump’s trade war an attack on workers.
And the Labour party politician warns the “poison” of Trumpism is spreading – and insists Europe must stand firm.
DONALD TRUMP has always been a billionaire bully, using his power to serve the rich while leaving ordinary people to suffer the consequences.
His latest threat to impose 25 per cent trade tariffs on the EU is yet another attack – not just on European economies, but on workers, families, and communities in Ireland and across Europe.
If he gets his way, he will drive up the cost of living, destroy jobs, and deepen inequality.
But this is about more than tariffs. It is about the creeping influence of Trumpism, a poison that is infecting politics far beyond the United States.
In my time in the European Parliament, I have seen firsthand the terrifying rise of the far right across Europe – forces that look to Trump as their inspiration.
And if we don’t stand up to him now, we will embolden those who want to drag our continent down the same dark path.
Trump’s trade war is not about fairness as he likes to profess – it is about power.
It is about forcing Europe into submission, bending us to his will so that US corporate interests can dictate the rules of the global economy.
PEOPLE WILL PAY THE PRICE
And, as always, it is working people in Europe and the US who will pay the price.
These tariffs will not hit the CEOs or hedge fund managers. They will hit factory workers, farmers, frontline workers – ordinary people just trying to make ends meet.
We cannot let that happen. Economic power should serve the people, not the privileged few — this is what the EU has to stand for. If Trump wants a fight, Brussels must be ready to meet him head-on.
GLOBAL POWER IN OUR OWN RIGHT
We must protect our industries, safeguard workers’ rights, care for our planet and ensure that trade policy serves fairness, not just corporate greed.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s visit to Washington for St Patrick’s Day is more than a diplomatic formality. It is a moment of truth. He is not just representing Ireland, he is standing for Europe as a whole and our values.
He must deliver a clear message: we are not some weak, submissive partner in this relationship. We are not a sidekick to America. We are a global power in our own right, and we will not take orders from a man who sees democracy as an obstacle and multilateralism as a weakness.
GROWING INFLUENCE OF FAR RIGHT
Trump and his allies respect only strength. If Ireland and Europe bow to his demands, it will not end here. It will only encourage him and the growing movement of right-wing nationalists who seek to dismantle the principles of fairness, justice, and cooperation that have defined the European project.
Since joining the European Parliament, nothing has alarmed me more than the growing influence of the far right across our continent.
From France to Italy, Germany to Spain, we are seeing the rise of political movements that mirror Trump’s agenda — movements that reject democracy, stoke division, and seek to turn people against each other for their own gain.
THREAT TO OUR VALUES
They blame immigrants for economic hardship, they undermine human rights, and they wage war on workers in the name of “competitiveness”.
This is not just a threat to European unity – it is a threat to the values we hold dear. Trump’s brand of nationalist, anti-worker politics is spreading, and if we do not take a stand now, it will consume Europe just as it has the politics of the United States.
We cannot let our politics be dictated by fear. We cannot allow Trump’s economic aggression to dictate the future of our workers and our industries. And we cannot allow the poison of Trumpism to take root in Europe.
This is about more than tariffs. It is about the future we want. A future where Europe is strong and independent, where trade policy puts people ahead of profit, and where workers’ rights and environmental protections are not sacrificed at the altar of corporate greed.
Trump wants us to kneel. Europe must rise.
