1. The US/EU agreement signed by Trump and Von der Leyen constitutes a deplorable act of surrender by the EU in the face of US impositions and interests. An agreement signed by the President of the European Commission that neglects the interests of EU countries and their peoples, particularly Portugal.
An agreement that completely subordinates the EU to US interests in the so-called customs duties dossier, by establishing a minimum value of 15 % (much higher for steel and aluminium) for European products, as opposed to 0% for US products. This is an increase of more than 900 % compared to the average rate charged before Trump announced the economic coercion measures last April
The commitments that integrate this agreement, which the EU has also made regarding the purchase of arms from the US, the volume of investments that the EU is obliged to guarantee in the US or the 750 billion euros of energy purchases from the US, at the price it determines, are examples of disregard for the interests of the EU countries. This is an attitude of surrender by the EU that will be paid for by the workers and peoples in terms of their rights and living conditions.
2. As the PCP pointed out and warned in its position on April 7, by taking advantage of its dominance of international financial institutions and its military power, the US is seeking to change the rules that it itself has determined, trying to impose its interests and arrogating to itself the “driver’s seat” of the world, as Trump put it.
Once again, this agreement has the complicity of the PSD/CDS government, which, in the wake of the PS's positions, is an expression of submission to the impositions of the US and the EU. The abdication of sovereign instruments such as trade policy, left in the hands of the EU and those who control it, takes away the Country's means of defending its interests and has led to the proven devaluation of national productive capacity, increased external dependence and vulnerability to situations like this.
Since the US is the fourth largest destination for our exports - wines, cork, medicines, fuel, paper, machinery, etc. - in the current situation, there is a stronger urgency for a policy to defend the national productive sectors, which involves diversifying trade relations and also includes, among other aspects: replacing imports with domestic production - food, medicines, equipment, etc.; valorising the domestic market, which requires improving wages, increasing purchasing power and supporting MSMEs; and regaining public control of strategic sectors, such as energy and banking.
3. More than ever, in view of world developments and the need to defend the interests of the Portuguese workers and people, the Country needs a policy which, within a framework of cooperation with other countries, places national development, sovereignty and independence at the centre of its action.
