European Commission President von der Leyen said on September 18 local time that the EU must seek to reach trade agreements with India and other countries to reduce its dependence on the United States. The increase of import tariffs by the United States is forcing the EU to seek trade diversification.

Von der Leyen said the EU hopes to reach an agreement with India this year, and she said the EU is in talks with countries such as South Africa, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.

On August 21, the United States and the European Union issued a joint statement stating that the two sides had agreed on the framework of the trade agreement, in which the United States reiterated the 15 percent tariff ceiling on most EU goods, covering automobiles, medicines, semiconductor chips and wood, etc. The EU pledged to abolish tariffs on U.S. industrial products and provide preferential market access for U.S. seafood and agricultural products. The EU also plans to purchase U.S. liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear products worth $7500 billion by 2028, and U.S. artificial intelligence chips worth $40 billion, while it plans to significantly increase purchases of U.S. military and defense equipment.

Carsten Brzeski, head of macro research at ING, pointed out that there are a large number of potential friction points in this agreement between the EU and the United States, which may lead to the escalation of friction in the future, and many "intentional" implementation supervision and implementation methods are still unclear. What is even more alarming is that this agreement highlights the EU's deepening dependence on the United States. It is not so much an "agreement" as a "loss control document" of the EU. (Headquarters reporter Liu Chanjuan)