BRUSSELS — When Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump struck their trade truce at his Scottish golf club last July, they made fulsome promises to each other — to reduce tariffs, boost energy purchases, ease green and tech regulations, and cooperate on artificial intelligence.
Nearly a year on, many of the commitments made at Turnberry are proving hard to keep. Some — like a pledge by von der Leyen that European businesses would purchase U.S. energy worth $750 billion through 2028 — were never realistic in the first place.
With the ink barely dry on the legislation the EU passed to keep its side of the bargain, Brussels and Washington are already exploring where they might collaborate next. But with Trump blowing hot and cold toward Europe, the deal could always unravel.
Brussels, for its part, says it is committed to the pact.
