Is Europe, the world’s geopolitical punching bag, ready to hit back at the US and China?

For over a year, Europe has become the world’s geopolitical punching bag, taking economic roundhouses from the east and geopolitical uppercuts from the west without ever swinging back.

From US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and covetous glances at Greenland to Beijing’s rare earth embargoes and lightning blockade of semiconductor shipments, Europe’s first response has been to freeze, not fight.

But now, it may be ready to counterpunch. After a fresh Trump tariff threat emerged last week, a flurry of reports, data and blueprints in Europe revealed a range of regulatory blows the EU could land – if it is finally ready to hit back.

“We see very strongly that the rhetoric is shifting in Europe,” said Jonathan Barth, co-author of a study of Europe’s choke points by Geostrategic Europe Taskforce.

“It’s much clearer about the necessity for deterrence.”

One option, researchers in Germany said, was for Europe to hold Trump’s “enormous” nuclear energy plans to ransom by weaponising its supply of low-enriched uranium.

South China Morning Post