The Baltic Sea

It is undeniable that the defense industries of most European states have seen rapid growth and development over the past four years. These changes are most evident in the states bordering Russia and Belarus—the Baltic states, Poland, and Finland. However, despite a shared history and geopolitical challenges since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, these states have pursued very different approaches to defense policy.

The second Trump administration has rapidly upended US–EU economic relations, replacing decades of low tariffs and open investment with sweeping protectionism driven by President Trump’s long-standing zero-sum, mercantilist worldview. Although Europe initially hoped for negotiated, reciprocal liberalization, it instead accepted a highly unbalanced arrangement largely because its dependence on US security guarantees constrained its ability to retaliate.