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The European Union is conducting trade deals with countries around the world to diversify more and more protectionists as officials fear transatlantic relations are irreversibly damaged.

Maros Sefcovic, the group’s chief trade negotiator, will travel to Washington on Monday to lobby for tariff reductions, President Donald Trump imposed 380 billion euros ($432 billion) in group exports. The EU is stepping up efforts to conduct free trade agreements elsewhere, as officials believe ties with the U.S. will never return to the status quo, according to people familiar with the matter.

According to data compiled by the group, the EU already has the world’s largest trade agreement network, covering about 75 partners and a trade network of more than 2 trillion euros. However, diversifying from the United States is not an easy task – transatlantic trade in goods and services reached 1.6 trillion euros in 2023.
“Europe continues to focus on diversifying its trade partnerships, interacting with countries that make up 87% of global trade and sharing our commitment to free and open exchange of goods, services and ideas,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, in a statement Thursday.

In the EU’s commission, the commission has been urging the capital in recent weeks to join the group’s trade agenda and speed up the ratification process of the agreement.

Ending the trade deal and opening up new markets is a key element in the EU’s strategy to deal with Trump’s tariffs. In recent years, efforts to expand the EU’s protocol network have been largely due to objections from member states such as France, which have a strong agricultural industry. But Trump’s policies have prompted new momentum to diversify supply chains and enter new markets. In recent months, the EU has carried out trade negotiations with the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and India. The disruption also sparked dialogue between the EU and the UK on a deal to reset post-Brexit relations. The Fre-Trade agreement accounts for about 45% of EU trade with external countries, and as of last year, the agreement will increase adoption or approval transactions, adding €185 billion in trade.

Von der Leyen said Thursday that in further focus on Asia, the EU will work closer with the comprehensive and progressive agreement of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trading group from Australia to Canada. Trump withdrew from the previous iteration of the partnership in 2017.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon proposed the agreement as the basis for a broader agreement with the EU on rules-based trading groups.

The driving force for diversification that drives the EU is the tariffs announced since Trump’s announcement of the presidency, which he is now attacking most countries. Last week, he announced that almost all group exports were imposed a “countdown” tariff of 20% on all exports, and he subsequently delayed 90 days, leaving a new tax rate of 10%.

The United States also imposed a 25% tax on EU steel and aluminum exports and a 25% tax on the group’s cars and some auto parts. Trump also said he would announce additional tariffs on wood, semiconductor chips and pharmaceutical products.

Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods this week to 145%, raising concerns in Europe that Beijing will transfer its goods to the group and flood the market with cheap products. In a call with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang earlier this week, Von der Leyen discussed establishing a way to track possible transfers and possible remedies.

Von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, who coordinated the EU Leadership Conference, will travel to Beijing in July to hold a summit.

The EU and China have agreed to discuss cooperation in the electric vehicle supply chain and are exploring ways to update customs cooperation agreements.

Some EU member states, including Spain, have closer ties to Beijing, a move warned by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, saying “like slashing one’s throat.”

Most capitals remain skeptical of establishing deeper relations with China, with French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou warned against turning to Beijing on Friday, saying China is working to “replace all European producers in agriculture and industry.”

The largest trade deal the EU seeks to complete is Mercosur Bloc in South America, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The Mercosur Agreement aims to establish an integrated market in Europe and Latin America.

After more than two decades of negotiations, the two regions reached a political agreement on the free trade agreement in December. Austria said it would abandon its long-term opposition to the deal and strengthen the approval process after Trump’s new tariffs.

The agreement aims to drive commodity trade beyond the current volume by reducing tariffs on most EU exports to some of the largest Latin American economies, while opening up more imports to the European market, including agricultural products. It could also help European automakers get hit by Trump’s car tariffs.