A EU-U.S Trade Deal Could Be the Key to Countering China

Last updated on October 1, 2025

During the Cold War, restraining the Soviet Union demanded strong military alliances between the U.S and Europe.

Today, it’s China’s economic might that beckons for a reinvigorated transatlantic relationship. 

Unfortunately, for years US-EU economic relations have been defined by intense disputes over tariffs and regulations on products like steel, aluminum, or critical minerals with no progress towards unity.

Consequently, fears of the “decline of the West,” have pervaded, opening a window for China. For decades, China has launched enormous projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, offering developing countries the technology, training, and resources to take China’s authoritarian path to modernity.

China is trying to rewrite the law of the land and lull countries into authoritarianism with economic bait. It’s working. For the 18th consecutive year, global freedom declined amid authoritarian influence.

However, there is still hope. Many developing countries have experience with and are open to democracy. It is the West’s lackluster activity that allows China to make inroads. 

As the largest democracies and economies, it is the US and EU’s duty to unify once again to remind the world that democracy is alive and well and worth fighting for.

Although a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement with the EU might not be the most economical (read my previous article!), there are certainly benefits for our fight against authoritarianism.

Eliminating Fragmentation 

A trade agreement would force the US and EU to finally align their fragmented regulations on goods.  Importantly, because of the sheer size of the U.S-EU market, their regulatory standards would become international benchmarks that countries would have to meet if they want to engage with the largest trading bloc. 

This allows the Western way of business and trade to spread alongside democratic values, compelling countries to look to us and not to China. 

Emphasizing Economic Resilience 

Democracies are currently over reliant on China, only legitimizing China’s economic model and leaving us vulnerable to coercion. From devastating Australia’s lobster industry, halting imports from Norway, or nearly ending Lithuania’s entire high-tech industry, China abuses Western reliances to bend democracies to its political wills. 

A trade agreement solves. Strengthened transatlantic cooperation between the US and the EU is the best way to end our reliance on China, pushing us towards economic resilience and credibility. 

Ultimately, by highlighting democracy’s unity and resilience, we can restore faith in democracy and tip the scales in favor of freedom. 

Otherwise, developing nations will continue to prefer China’s authoritarian norms. Already, South Africa, Kenya, and Botswana, use Chinese surveillance technology destroying privacy for millions. Chinese-funded schools in Africa now teach to turn a blind eye to the 181 human rights violations that China perpetuates in Uganda, Zimbabwe, and the DRC. And it’s Chinese social media tools that are deployed to censor millions in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela. 

China and their self-serving authoritarian norms are the greatest threat to freedom everywhere, so even if a trade agreement isn’t economically perfect, it could be a step in the right direction in this global battle.