Most casual EU observers have missed the connection between President Trump eliminating the U.S-Europe Marshall Plan via entirely new trade and tariff policies, and the aggregate financial collapse of the European Union.

Over four years (1948-1952), the United States provided $13.3 billion (equivalent to approximately $137 billion in 2025) directly to 17 Western European countries, including the United Kingdom, France, West Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The intent was to rebuild Europe after World War II. However, included in the plan was a later system of one-way tariffs, where EU Countries would high-tariff U.S. goods and the U.S. would not tariff EU goods imported.

The direct funding ended in 1952, but the indirect funding via tariffs never ended until President Donald J Trump triggered reciprocal tariffs against Europe thereby removing the one-way benefit. This created an immediate and growing problem for Europe – particularly noted in the EU industrial base.

Simultaneous to this EU tariff reset, President Trump levied tariffs against China. To offset the possibility of economic losses, and specifically to fund Beijing’s subsidies to impacted Chinese manufacturing, China stopped purchasing European industrial machines. [That’s the source of the picture above at the G7 in Canada]

This trade and tariff approach hit Europe twice as hard. First from American tariffs and second from diminished Chinese industrial purchasing. Immediately, Europe started looking for alternate sources of funds. That’s where the idea to tax American tech companies entered the discussion in Brussels. Today, President Trump addressed this directly.

TRUTH SOCIAL – “The European Union is at it again and, as usual, taking direct aim at GREAT American Companies! After having fined Apple, for no reason at all, 15 Billion Dollars, Meta, 3 Billion Dollars, Amazon 2.5 Billion Dollars, and many others, we have just been informed that Google, a truly advanced and amazing group, has been fined yet another 1 Billion Dollars, without explanation. This brings the Google total to over 18 Billion Dollars!

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There is a level of no-so-subtle pretense within this messaging from President Trump that is not good.

As noted in this Truth Social message, President Trump notes it is unlikely that people around Chairman Xi and people around President Putin would be providing military, logistics, targeting or weapons support for Iran for the same reason President Trump is not providing military, logistics, targeting or weapons support to Ukraine.

TRUTH SOCIAL – “President Xi, at our recent meeting in Beijing, China, told me that he would not, under any circumstances, give or sell Weapons to the Islamic Republic of Iran — And that statement included Chinese Companies. Considering our relationship, I take him at his word and, besides, l am doing him very big favors, also.

Likewise, President Putin, despite the horrible War going on in Ukraine (The relationship remains, as it does with President Zelenskyy), told me that he would not sell Weapons to Iran. He understands that I do not sell Weapons to Ukraine, but to NATO Countries. They pay full price, and how those Weapons are distributed, I have no idea.

Therefore, two major Countries that people speak of often in terms of Iran are, in my opinion, not participating. If they did, it would be very bad for them — Certainly not in their best interests. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” ~President DONALD J. TRUMP

I strongly doubt non-pretending Russian President Vladimir Putin draws a distinction between the U.S. sending drone technology and missiles to Ukraine -vs- the U.S. sending drones and military technology to NATO Germany for forwarding to Ukraine.

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In his most recent outline, Promethean Action PAC’s Mike Steger puts the U.S-Canada trade conflict into an accurate context where China is really the enterprise to gain or fail.  This is a very well presented segment worth watching.

CTH readers will note our long track of this dynamic.  In short, as NAFTA predictably evolved, and as the U.S. manufacturing base was deconstructed, suddenly things shifted.  Canada and Mexico became important as entry doors into the U.S. consumer market for the products outsourced by the destruction of the American manufacturing base.

Steger appropriately uses the auto-sector as an example because it is the easiest sector to quantify damage.  By playing the long game, China has thoroughly compromised the EU and U.K auto market. In 2025 China exported 1.2 million vehicles into Europe. Europe only exported 200,000 vehicles into China; a net trade deficit of 1 million vehicles in Beijing’s favor.

Chinese cars now represent over ten percent of all EU vehicles on the road, and this is only the beginning stage of the collapse of the EU industrial base that Germany and Brussels have only recently started to grasp.  The pace is irreversible at this point for Europe, and now China has turned their attention toward Canada.   This is why the U.S-Canada trade conflict matters!

Canada is the entryway to do in North America what China has done in Europe. WATCH:

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In the graph below, look at how fast things move once the foothold is established by policy.  This is stunning.

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There is absolutely nothing democratic within the political schemes of the communists, leftists and Nazis’.  Just as Ukraine is led by an unelected authoritarian under the guise of the ‘new democratic norms’; just as Kamala Harris was installed as a presidential nominee under those same anti-democracy norms; so too is U.K Prime Minister Andy Burnham now installed without any election by the British citizens.

The unelected monarch, King Charles, appoints the unelected Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, and the first pledge of the unelected leader is a promise to make life better for the people who are denied a voice in his agenda.

THE BACKGROUND – Former communist Prime Minister Kier Starmer was facing a massive amount of opposition, his policies and party platform had collapsed, and the people of Britain were revolting against him.

Starmer’s Labour party lost more than 1,400 seats in the country’s local elections, and the non-communist, nationalistic Reform Party was winning.  Something urgent was needed.

Polls showed communist Mayor Andy Burnham was popular as his mask still had still not fully dropped, and the illegal immigrants on the streets of Manchester were only raping a few girls each month which was still easy to hide.  However, the problem was that Burnham could not replace Starmer unless he was a Member of Parliament (MP).

With urgent payments for future indulgencies quickly afforded, the communist MP for Makerfield, a district within Greater Manchester, resigned from his job so that communist Andy Burnham could run for his MP position.  A few days later, exactly at the moment communist Burnham was being sworn in to the MP job, communist Starmer announced his exit.

The plan had worked seamlessly.

The Communist Labour Party of the U.K then coalesced quickly to replace Starmer with Burnham, and today Communist King Charles appointed Communist Andy Burnham to lead the country.  No election needed; i.e. ‘The New Democratic Norm’ again fulfilled.  Great Britain’s Bernie Sanders is now in charge of things.

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The core of the issue is how the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been expanding its self-believed power and now seeks to become the unaccountable arbiter of a new global law system.   The ICC is threatening to file charges against U.S. law enforcement who conduct border security operations and deport illegal aliens.

If it is an ideological policy of the ICC they now feel empowered to prosecute and/or arrest American citizens at will and existentially threaten American sovereignty.  Recently elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is in full alignment with the intent.  Once the NYPD can be replaced with U.N police, things will likely gain forward momentum.

Comrades, if you stop your 12-year-old daughter from removing her breasts, and or transitioning, you run the risk of the ICC sending Interpol officers or U.N blue helmets to arrest you.  Similarly, if you refuse to give illegal aliens access to your extra bedroom, a formal ICC complaint could be filed, and the same mechanisms target your home ownership.  WATCH:

MARCO RUBIO – “Most of us would struggle to imagine a world in which U.S. soldiers, police officers, Border Patrol agents and elected leaders could be dragged before an international court, tried by judges from random countries across the globe, found guilty under international laws we neither consent to nor control, and then imprisoned thousands of miles from America.

But that is what the International Criminal Court now claims the power to do.

The ICC was born at the turn of the century. At first, it was marketed as a narrow backstop to prosecute the gravest crimes. Now the ICC and its allies seek a standing world tribunal with near-unlimited reach, empowered to override the courts and constitutions of the U.S. and other sovereign states—and to prosecute and arrest our citizens.”

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Essentially this notice can be summarized as follows: If you really end the Marshall Plan, credit rating agencies will have to lower their credit rating for all of Europe due to increased financial risk.

Now, tell me again how Europe is not living on the back of America.

LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) – Progressive U.S. disengagement from European security ​affairs is negative for ‌Europe’s sovereign credit ratings, Moody’s said on Monday, due the ​increased defence costs ​the region’s governments will now ⁠face.

A summit of the ​North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)) ​in Turkey last week saw its 32 member countries agree to ​shift the balance ​of responsibility for Europe’s defence to ‌the ⁠alliance’s European members, and away from the United States.

“The (U.S.) disengagement is credit negative ​for ​European ⁠sovereigns,” a report by two of Moody’s ​top rating analysts ​said. ⁠It said the “credit effect” would depend on how the ⁠shift ​was managed ​in the coming years. (SOURCE)

When it comes to irony, Emmanuel Macron has, quite possibly, the world’s worst timing.

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Barbara Boyd argues Trump is pursuing peace talks with Iran while warning the ceasefire is over and the U.S. will respond with crushing force if Iran interferes in the Strait of Hormuz. She says media claims that Trump is a warmonger are false, citing Trump’s regional “Board of Peace,” Iran’s long-term proxy war through Hamas and Hezbollah, and Iran’s uranium enrichment and nuclear ambitions.

The script describes U.S. strikes—Operation Midnight Hammer (2025) and Operation Epic Fury (Feb. 2026)—and claims these actions weakened Iran, shifted Gulf states against Tehran, enabled changes in Gaza and Lebanon, and collapsed Iran’s economy, leaving Hormuz harassment as its main lever. Boyd frames the conflict as part of a broader struggle against a London-centered “petrodollar” energy order and Net Zero policies, highlighting Trump’s energy expansion, economic metrics, and new nuclear and fusion initiatives as the future economic strategy.  WATCH:

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Personally, I believe Turkish President Recep Erdogan knew exactly what would happen when he gave all the NATO leaders a “Magnum” .357 handgun at the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey.  What happened next is exactly the reason he did it.

President Trump brings Erdogan’s gift back to the White House, with a casual ‘cool gun’ nonchalant approach.  Meanwhile, back in Europe, the apoplectic recipients, administrators’, various office bureaucracies and support staff that surround each NATO politician are physically and mentally stuck, not knowing what to do.

I have read many of the media reports, and they are incredibly funny -and sad- but mostly funny {SEE HERE}.

The general response is that President Erdogan has just handed the NATO leaders something akin to an unstable, portable nuclear device.  Most of the European’s won’t even touch the custom case that accompanies the handgun, let alone actually touch the alarmingly scary pistol itself.

THE MESSAGE – AGAINST THE BACKDROP: How is NATO going to “defend itself” if they cannot even receive, handle or carry a firearm?  A poignant and not-s0-subtle message that is more than a little funny; in a typically Turkish manner of irony.

The main NATO request in Turkey was for U.S. patriot missiles. {CITATION} Ursula von der Leyen, the European Union commission president, thanked Erdogan for the gift, which will be decommissioned and donated to a military museum, her spokesperson said. […] “It struck me that ⁠my gift of maple syrup kind of undermatched,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters, adding that the firearm was now in police possession. “I would like to reassure Canadians, they keep guns away from me.” {CITATION}

Sometimes life makes you feel like you are sitting alone, looking at the geopolitical world – and no one can see the absurdity of it all.  We need advanced weapons to protect ourselves against the horrible Russians, NATO proclaimed.

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The European auto industry is a case study on how short-sighted trade policy goals, results in consequences.

Previously, German auto companies like Volkswagen entered into trade agreements with China and began manufacturing their vehicles with immediate financial success in the market.  However, it did not take long for Chinese auto companies to reverse the engineering and begin to deliver the same quality vehicles at much lower prices.

The Chinese then stop purchasing the Volkswagen vehicles and purchase the cheaper version, while simultaneously begin exporting those same vehicles into the home market from where the technology originated.

Today, with a double-digit decline in production, Volkswagen announces they will cut almost half of their models due to diminished sales.

BLOOMBERG – BERLIN — Volkswagen reported weak sales numbers on Friday, a day after the giant German automaker announced plans to slash the number of models by nearly half as sales plunged, particularly in China.

The Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said group sales fell 8.6 per cent in the second quarter to just under 2.1 million vehicles, with sales in China alone plummeted by more than one-third.

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In discussing the role of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to block the geopolitical split caused by U.S. President Trump’s America-First policy, the Wall Street Journal did a deep dive into Carney’s travels and conversations.

This part was interesting: “Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration had been startled when ¹Trudeau’s government discreetly asked British intelligence chiefs to start discussing how they might band together if the U.S. left Five Eyes, the U.S.-led intelligence-sharing alliance. MI6 turned them down, as the vast majority of intelligence that flowed through that club came from Washington. The idea never gained traction, Canadian officials said, and Carney didn’t try to resurface it.”  {SOURCE}

The Wall Street journal also inadvertently outlined why the generally unknown Mark Carney was selected by the Canadian leftists: “he texted European leaders he’d known from the finance world, like Rothschild banker Emmanuel Macron, now France’s president; onetime chairman of BlackRock’s German subsidiary, Friedrich Merz, now German chancellor; and the European Investment Bank’s Alexander Stubb, now Finland’s president.” Now you understand why CTH began watching Carney closely, as Trudeau was announcing his exit. Carney was planned as a counter to Trump’s 2024 victory.

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Turkish President Recep Erdogan is disliked by EU NATO elites in precisely the same manner as they dislike President Donald Trump.  Erdogan is not a good guy in regional politics, but he is respected for the national strength he has created.

¹The five-eyes intelligence construct, specifically the Intelligence Community actors within it, is not the good guys.  There’s a reason why Vladimir Putin says, ‘I do not hate Americans, I dislike the CIA.’

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