EU’s Kaja Kallas Criticizes U.S. Trade Tariffs

(MENAFN) European Union foreign policy leader Kaja Kallas has voiced sharp disapproval of U.S. trade practices, asserting they are undercutting its own partners and amplifying divisions among Western powers.

Speaking at an event organized by the EU Institute for Security Studies, Kallas emphasized that such strategies inadvertently benefit global adversaries like Russia and China by projecting a fractured Western alliance.

According to Kallas, major world powers “sometimes overestimate their own power and underestimate how much they need others,” a statement that appeared directed at Washington’s unilateral economic actions.

She cited the imposition of U.S. tariffs on countries typically viewed as close allies — including Canada, Australia, and Japan — as examples of how these policies “make those countries weaker.”

Kallas warned that such moves only serve to strengthen the geopolitical positions of Moscow and Beijing.

Reflecting on her recent experience at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, Kallas recounted how Russian representatives stressed their enduring partnership with China.

She found it particularly striking that both nations are increasingly framing their relationship through a shared historical narrative, especially concerning World War II.

Kallas expressed astonishment over Russia and China’s joint remembrance of their wartime efforts, noting that their public narrative claimed they “fought the Second World War [and we defeated] Nazism.”

She added, “And I was, like, ‘OK, that is something new,’” before questioning the historical accuracy and intentions behind such rhetoric. “If you know history then, you know, it raises a lot of question marks in your head,” Kallas remarked.

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