Majority of Europeans think EU-US trade deal is a 'humiliation', new poll shows

A majority of Europeans think the EU-US trade deal is a "humiliation" for the bloc and want Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, its ultimate negotiator, to resign as a result, a new poll has found.

The survey was conducted by research firm Cluster17 exclusively for Le Grand Continent and published on Tuesday morning, a day before von der Leyen is set to deliver her State of the European Union speech in Strasbourg.

It was carried out between 30 August and 4 September among 5,302 people in the five largest member states: Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Poland.

The findings build on the intense backlash that has permeated the political and media discourse since the deal was announced in late July.

Under the agreement, which is already in effect, the vast majority of EU-made goods bound for the US market are subject to a 15% tariff, while the vast majority of US-made goods bound for the EU market are exempt from duties.

A select group of products, such as aircraft, critical raw materials and semiconductor equipment, benefits from a "zero-for-zero" scheme. Brussels has yet to convince Washington to include wines and spirits, a strategic sector for Europeans, in the list.

Asked about the emotion triggered by the deal, 52% of respondents in the survey chose "humiliation", while 22% chose "indifference" and 8% chose "relief".

A meagre 1% opted for "pride".

The feeling of "humiliation" is particularly pronounced in France (65%) and Spain (56%), whereas in Poland the most common reaction is "indifference" (49%).

A huge majority of 77% believes the terms of the deal mostly favour the American economy, with just 13% saying it represents a "compromise" that benefits both sides equally. Only 2% believe it mostly favours the European economy.

However, when it comes to the possible impact on the ground, opinions diverge: 42% think those "most affected" will be European companies, 27% say American consumers, 19% say European consumers and 4% say the member states.

Von der Leyen under fire

The blame for the lopsided outcome is put firmly on the European Commission, which has exclusive competence to determine the bloc's trade policy.

Some 61% find the Commission "mainly responsible" as opposed to 28% who point the finger at member states. During talks, capitals voiced their opinion in an attempt to sway the process and safeguard their national interests. Experts have noted this not-so-subtle lobbying weakened the executive's position vis-à-vis the White House.

Remarkably, 12% of participants think the European Parliament, which was virtually excluded from the negotiations, was the "main responsible" actor.

The survey lays bare a strong, across-the-board disapproval towards Ursula von der Leyen, who exchanged several phone calls with Donald Trump to thrash out the terms of the deal until they both met face to face at the end of July.

Their encounter in Scotland finalised the agreement and immediately unleashed an avalanche of criticism that continues to this day. After days of silence, von de Leyen published an op-ed describing the deal as "solid yet imperfect".

Asked about their assessment of von der Leyen's actions, 75% of respondents believe she defended European interests either "very badly" or "rather badly".

A minority of 19% think she defended European interests "very well" or "rather well".

Similarly, 41% claim to have "no confidence at all" in von der Leyen, followed by 31% who have "not so much confidence" and 20% who still have "quite some confidence".

The negativity translates into a whopping 60% of respondents who say they are "very favourable" or "rather favourable" to von der Leyen's resignation. The calls for her dismissal are consistent across the five polled countries, with France taking the lead.

By contrast, 26% say they are "rather unfavourable" or "very unfavourable" to her resignation, while 14% say they do not know how they feel.

Another point of contention is the financial pledges that the Commission made on behalf of all member states. Under the deal, the EU has committed to spending $750 billion on American energy, investing $600 billion in the American economy and buying $40 billion worth of American AI chips by the end of Trump's mandate.

Some 76% of respondents oppose the pledges to some degree, and just 17% support them.

At the same time, 70% claim to be "ready to boycott" US-made goods.

The outrage expressed by respondents appears to be well-informed: 71% say they have heard about the EU-US trade deal and "well" understand its content.

It is an extraordinary share given that most policies stemming from Brussels go either unnoticed or misunderstood by the general public.

Meanwhile, 26% say they have heard about the trade deal, but they do not know "exactly" what it is about. Only 3% claim to be ignorant about it.

Finally, 44% of respondents believe Trump is an "enemy" of Europe, 10% say he is a "friend", and 44% say he is neither of the two options.

Despite the widespread indignation, 70% want their home country to remain part of the EU as opposed to 24% who would prefer a Brexit-style departure.