Joe Biden’s election as President of the United States was welcomed with much enthusiasm and hope in Europe, where expectations about healing and rebuilding transatlantic relations after Trump’s four years of denigration of the European-US relationship ran high.
While there have undoubtedly been changes in presidential personality, style and rhetoric, as well as some concrete actions regarding US re-engagement with multilateral institutions and proactive engagement in transatlantic security – including the moment of unity among transatlantic allies created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – there has also been some continuity with Trump’s ‘America First’ foreign policy.
This can mostly be seen in the field of trade, as well as the US foreign policy strategy in the Indo-Pacific region. In both cases, Biden has shown so far that he will pursue America’s own agenda and political interests, even if this implies sidelining European allies.
Given that President Biden has been in office for almost two years now, it seems the right time to take stock of current transatlantic relations. The latest edition of “L’Europe en formation” analyses what has changed and how the transatlantic relationship has evolved under the Biden administration.