(CN) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance landed in Paris on Monday and kick-started a momentous and difficult week for transatlantic relations with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also meeting European leaders later in the week.
Vance’s debut in Paris to attend a major conference on artificial intelligence coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump announcing 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and the European Union vowing to retaliate. In his first term, Trump also slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum, prompting Brussels to hit back at American jeans, whiskey and motorcycles.
The new tariffs were the latest punch against the EU and showed Trump has little desire to tone down his disorienting “America First” agenda or back down from upsetting his European allies.
Rubio is scheduled to make his inaugural trip to Europe in his new role to attend the Munich Security Conference in Germany, which opens Friday. Vance will also be at the Munich summit, an annual event where Western leaders discuss security challenges. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, will also be in attendance; he and Vance reportedly are planning to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich.
The war in Ukraine will be at the center of this week’s talks and Europeans will be especially interested in figuring out what strategy Trump may take in confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin. It remains unclear if Trump intends to raise pressure on the Kremlin or seek a quick end to the war, perhaps by forcing Ukraine to make dramatic concessions.
Meanwhile, Hegseth was headed on Monday to Germany for a week-long trip in Europe. In Germany, he was scheduled to visit the headquarters of the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the Pentagon chief is expected to be in Brussels where he will take part in his first NATO meeting at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels and attend the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a forum that coordinates military aid to Kyiv. He will end his trip with a visit to Poland where he will meet Polish leaders and U.S. soldiers.
It looks clear that Vance, Rubio and Hegseth will push Trump’s message that EU nations must boost defense spending and take more responsibility for European defense, in particular when it comes to confronting Russia and helping Ukraine. In the past, Trump has questioned the need for the NATO alliance, raising fears in European capitals that they should not rely on American protection. Trump has demanded European allies raise their military spending to 5% of GDP, a tall order considering many are struggling to meet a goal of spending 3% of GDP.
In its news release about the Pentagon chief’s trip, the Defense Department said Hegseth will emphasize “the need to boost” defense spending among all allies, “increase European leadership” and expand the defense industrial base “on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Hegseth also will argue, in line with Trump’s recent statements, that the war in Ukraine needs to end “as quickly as possible” through diplomatic talks and call “for increased European leadership on security assistance to Ukraine.”
The Trump administration may be interested in downsizing troop levels in Europe and shifting them to the Pacific to counter the rise of China. There are about 65,000 U.S. troops permanently based in Europe.
European nations have begun to increase military spending and their leaders talk more seriously about the need to become less dependent on American military might.
Faced with Trump’s disruptive politics, European leaders are becoming more combative in their responses and are vowing to build up their autonomy.
In an interview with CNN aired on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Trump to back down from starting a trade war with Europe.
“My first question to the U.S.: Is the European Union your first problem? No, I don’t think so,” Macron said. “Your first problem is China and you should focus on the first problem.”
Macron said that if Trump wants Europe to spend more on defense, then he shouldn’t hurt the European economy with tariffs. He also said tariffs will hurt the U.S. economy by raising costs for U.S. consumers and impeding European investment into the U.S. He also suggested the EU could hit back by placing barriers on American digital services.
Macron said the EU is ready to get tough too.
“I think we should be ready to be in the room and react,” Macron said. “The European Union has to be ready to deliver what we want and what we need for ourselves. … What we have to do is to act for ourselves and to tell our people: This is our project. This is what we want.”
Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.