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U.S.-EU Tariff War Puts $10 Trillion In Business Relations At Risk

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

March 18, 2025

The escalating tariff war between the U.S. and the European Union is threatening nearly $10 trillion in transatlantic business relations, according to a report by the American Chamber of Commerce in the EU (AmCham EU). With both sides raising tariffs on key goods, businesses are bracing for potential disruptions to trade, investment, and global supply chains.

The High Stakes Of A Trade War

$9.5 trillion – The estimated value of U.S.-EU business ties in 2024, with industries ranging from technology and finance to energy and automotive deeply interconnected.
Intra-company trade at risk – This accounts for 90% of Ireland’s trade and 60% of Germany’s trade, meaning tariffs could disrupt the operations of major multinational corporations.
Global value chains under pressure – European automakers rely on U.S. exports, and supply chains for everything from pharmaceuticals to aerospace parts are deeply integrated.

Tit-for-Tat Tariffs Escalate Tensions

Last week, the U.S. imposed new tariffs on aluminum and steel, prompting the EU to retaliate with higher tariffs on key American goods starting in April. The trade dispute took an even sharper turn when Donald Trump threatened a 200% tax on alcohol imports from Europe, rattling financial markets.

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This escalation is no small matter. In 2024 alone, trade in goods between the U.S. and EU hit a record $976 billion, making it the largest trading relationship in the world.

Investment, Not Just Trade, Is At Stake

While tariffs dominate headlines, the bigger concern is investment. U.S. companies’ sales in Europe are four times larger than exports, while European firms’ sales in the U.S. are three times higher than their exports. A prolonged trade conflict could severely damage these deep financial and corporate ties.

Beyond Trade: Energy, Data, And Services In The Crosshairs

Energy risks – The EU is highly dependent on U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), having imported 56.2 billion cubic meters in 2023. A trade war could complicate energy security and pricing.
Data flows and services trade – Restrictions on technology, digital services, and financial transactions could have ripple effects beyond tariffs, disrupting key industries on both sides of the Atlantic.

Economic Growth At Risk

According to AmCham EU, growth rates will be uneven across the Atlantic:

U.S. GDP is expected to grow by 2.7% in 2025.
Europe’s economy is forecast to expand by just 1%, reflecting higher energy costs, regulatory burdens, and weaker consumer demand.

While economic growth remains positive, trade tensions add another layer of uncertainty, affecting business confidence and investment decisions.

Can The U.S. And EU Find Common Ground?

Despite rising tensions, AmCham EU sees opportunities for collaboration. The transatlantic economy is not just the largest trading relationship—it is also the most strategically significant. If both sides can align on key economic priorities, they could reinforce their dominance in an increasingly competitive global market.The coming months will be a critical test of whether Washington and Brussels can navigate trade disputes without derailing one of the world’s most vital economic partnerships.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

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Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.