Former NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana (File photo)

Former NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana wrote a blistering piece criticizing Trump’s trade & foreign policy, especially the divide-and-rule strategy against the EU on June 21.

The article in the Western Crack-Up published originally on the Project Syndicate has been widely reproduced on the internet.

Solana said in the article that Trump’ tariffs will hurt not only foreign exporters, but also US workers and firms in sectors that depend on steel and aluminum inputs. Yet Trump seems impervious to facts and economic logic. To justify his self-defeating policies, Trump cherry picks isolated cases such as Canada’s high tariffs on dairy products, presenting them without any context, while overlooking the fact that America’s weighted average tariff rate is actually higher than that of the EU, Japan, and Canada.

Solana, who served as secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization between 1995 and 1999, was later the European Union's high representative for common foreign and security policy until 2009.

For defense cooperation, Solana believes Trump has continued to demand that other NATO members increase their military spending. While what Trump doesn’t seem to understand is that such spending increases would go not toward the NATO budget or toward paying America for its protection, but rather toward enhancing each country’s own defense capabilities.

He added that the EU has already established the so-called Permanent Structured Cooperation to increase security and defense resources and use them in a collective – and thus more efficient – manner.

The Trump administration seems to respond with skepticism to every joint initiative that the EU launches instead of welcoming it.

Solana expressed his discontent with Trump administration’s attitude toward EU’s integration. He mentioned in the article, during the 2016 US presidential campaign, Trump supported the United Kingdom’s bid to withdraw from the EU. Since taking office, his administration has not hesitated to weaken the bloc whenever it could. Just a few days ago, Richard Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany, said that he is working to “empower other conservatives in Europe” – a clear departure from diplomatic protocol.

Solana pointed out that it is little wonder that the EU – a bastion of multilateralism – is not to Trump’s liking. He warned if Trump thinks a divide-and-rule strategy can "make America great again," he is in for a rude awakening.