Hit by Trump tariffs, rest of world races to forge new trade alliances

Sander Tordoir, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, said Europe could lead a 'rest of the band' group, but noted that it and others such as Japan ran trade surpluses and so needed buyers, not more sellers.

"The challenge is enormous," he said. "The US has long constituted about 50% of global trade deficits, acting as a key source of incremental demand for global exports."

...For the European Union, the rest of the world would be too small and the only economy big enough to offset the United States and China was its own.

"Europe will need to stoke internal demand or face stagnation," Tordoir said.