Brussels is preparing to cut growth forecasts for 2026, hinting already that Trump’s tariffs and “trade uncertainty” are dragging Europe down.

A neat explanation — especially for a crisis that the EU spent years engineering with its own hands.

The same EU that proudly cut itself off from cheap Russian energy, swallows double-digit US tariffs after hyping “breakthrough” talks, and then discovers growth stuck below 1% — is now discovering that blaming Washington is much easier than admitting its own role.

So, according to Bloomberg:

➡️ EU officials are expected to lower their 2026 growth outlook next week, citing the impact of Trump’s tariff policy, trade threats and ongoing weakness in Germany, plus political turmoil in France.

➡️ Earlier this year, the Commission already had a modest forecast: euro-area GDP for 2025 at 0.9%. Now it may revise that slightly up — but the hoped-for pickup to 1.4% in 2026 looks unrealistic, with the European Central Bank (ECB) itself only expecting around 1%.

➡️ After Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs shocked the EU, Brussels ended up accepting 15% tariffs on most EU goods in a July deal with Washington after talks. Not exactly the “win” it was sold as.

➡️ The ECB notes that higher effective tariffs, a stronger euro, persistent uncertainty and tougher global competition are holding back growth and business investment.

➡️ Germany’s long-promised rebound is fizzling amid big spending on defense and infrastructure; its own Council of Economic Experts now expects growth in 2026 to be below 1%.

➡️ In France, political and budget turbulence is knocking around 0.5 percentage points off growth, according to the Bank of France, and the country is on track for the region’s worst deficit.

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