Donald Trump's world is, in fact, a world rapidly accelerating its decoupling from the United States. The most direct consequence of the economic, technological, and military coercion that the US president has decided to impose on partners and rivals is a global hyperactivity in the search for alternative alliances and a move away from Trump's unpredictability. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking in Davos, summarized this moment of "rupture" with the old, rules-based, post-World War II system and called for a union of "middle powers" to establish a new world order. Faced with Trump's aggressiveness and competition from China, the rest of the world has embarked on a quest for alternative trade relationships. This is not just about diversification; a veritable global race has been unleashed to secure stable and lasting agreements.
Amid the erosion of shared instruments, with the United Nations threatened by imminent financial collapse—as denounced by its Secretary-General, António Guterres—and a global financial architecture that has become "obsolete, dysfunctional, and unfair, incapable of adapting to the multifaceted Guterres," the world is clinging to trade alliances, however transactional and pragmatic they may be.
This is why the European Union has finally managed to sign "the mother of all trade agreements"—as Ursula von der Leyen has dubbed it—with India, after almost two decades of negotiations between Brussels and New Delhi, now accelerated by Donald Trump's tariff offensive. Furthermore, the EU has also pursued agreements with Mercosur (signed on January 17), Indonesia (negotiated in 2025), Mexico (updated a year ago), Chile (in force since February 1, 2025), and others. of longer duration, such as Canada, South Korea, and Japan. Furthermore, the Commission is negotiating with Australia, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates; and Malaysia and Thailand hope to finalize their respective agreements with Brussels this same year. But, while the agreement with the EU is the crown jewel for Narendra Modi, India is currently engaged in trade negotiations with more than 50 countries simultaneously, including Canada, New Zealand, and Oman. Indeed, Mark Carney's Canada has swallowed its differences with China and moved closer to Beijing, signing a trade agreement with Qatar while also negotiating with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
For his part, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer used a recent trip to China to announce his intention to further reverse the hard Brexit negotiated by Conservative governments after the 2016 referendum and to seek new avenues for engagement with the European single market.
Trade and political uncertainty is the new normal. But so is the desire to mitigate the impact of the personalistic and vindictive global order imposed by Trump. The agenda for domination of the "Western Hemisphere"—as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls it—is formulated with contempt for the will and priorities of others. Recently, the New York Times He asked Trump about the limits to his global power, and the US president acknowledged that his "own morality" and his "own mind" are the only things that can stop him because he doesn't need international law.
While hegemonic ambitions are undeniable, the stifling of middle powers can be countered—Carney told Davos—provided they form an alliance. And in the acceleration of this global reconfiguration of trade, financial, and geopolitical connections that is underway, we are beginning to glimpse the response of a world that does not want to depend on Trumpian unpredictability.
A European Union permanently in Trump's crosshairs has become aware of its transatlantic isolation, but also of its strength—if it chooses to use it. Brussels can continue to cling to this world of transnational rules, negotiation, and cooperation—which the MAGA movement labels naive—because it works.
2026 has started strong. The EU has demonstrated deterrence against a Trump who threatened to seize control of Greenland, brandishing, albeit only rhetorically, its anti-coercion instrument. It has clearly committed to investing in and strengthening alliances with like-minded countries and major emerging economies, and has reiterated that, despite its hard power, the ability to reach trade and investment agreements is fundamental to strengthening economic resilience and responding to the uncertainty of global challenges. The EU has rediscovered its old weapon as a global geopolitical actor: trade.
