Thread by @prchovanec

Allow me to submit: The EU signing its investment treaty with China has less to do with inherent EU fecklessness than with a complete absence of an alternative, compelling US vision for shared prosperity on more suitable terms.

Or as I've said many times (since well before Trump became President), "You can't beat something with nothing."

Unless the US shows attractive leadership - not just belligerence - then our erstwhile partners, in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere, are going to cut the best deal they can, even if it's suboptimal.

For Obama, the problem was passivity. His intentions (behind TPP and the so-called "pivot") were good but he was unwilling to put the political capital behind a real effort to lead, in contrast to China.

For Trump, it's the paradox of America First: "The first shall be last".