Specific features of U.S. President D. Trump’s policy toward the EU countries during his first and second administrations

Abstract

The article examines the specific features of U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy toward the countries of the European Union during his first and second administrations. The relevance of the topic is determined by the fact that transatlantic relations, which after the Second World War developed on the basis of shared democratic values, mutual trust, economic interdependence, and security partnership, underwent a significant transformation during D. Trump’s presidency. The article focuses on the shift from the traditional model of alliance-based cooperation toward a more pragmatic, competitive, and often confrontational format of interaction between Washington and Brussels.

The purpose of the article is to provide a comprehensive analysis of D. Trump’s policy toward the EU in the context of the implementation of the “America First” doctrine, as well as to determine its impact on the level of trust, the nature of political dialogue, and the prospects for transatlantic cooperation. The methodological framework of the study is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity. The research employs the historical-comparative, problem-chronological, and systemic methods, as well as the method of political analysis.

The article demonstrates that Trump’s first administration became a period of political shock for the European Union, caused by criticism of NATO, tariff pressure, support for Brexit, skepticism toward multilateral institutions, and the withdrawal of the United States from important international agreements. His second administration not only continued this course but also deepened it, thereby increasing mistrust among allies and calling into question the sustainability of the previous model of partnership.

Particular attention is paid to the human dimension of these processes, since the crisis of transatlantic trust affects not only diplomacy but also the security of societies, economic stability, and the sense of predictability in the international order. The article substantiates that D. Trump’s policy contributed to the transition from a value-based alliance to a pragmatic partnership marked by elements of competition, in which the issue of trust became no less important than economic or military advantage.