Financial Times: America's allies look to declare independence from the US

[Towlie]

Traditional partners are rethinking their economic ties

When the US celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence next month, its friends and allies will join in the festivities. But, behind the scenes, many of the same countries are striving to increase their independence from America.

Washington’s traditional partners have discovered that longstanding ties to the US do not buy them immunity from abuse and pressure tactics from the Trump administration. Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s prime minister, spoke for many when she complained that the US president often treats democratic allies worse than authoritarian rivals.

In this new atmosphere, close ties to America that were once seen as a strength increasingly look like a potential vulnerability. The loudest wake-up call came last year, when Donald Trump imposed swingeing tariffs on friend and foe alike. His administration set off fresh alarm bells this month with its decision to restrict access for all foreign nationals to Anthropic’s frontier AI models — Mythos 5 and Fable 5.

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