'If countries united, bullied Trump back, it would've been a different world': Stiglitz At HTLS 2026

Economist Joseph E. Stiglitz has questioned the reliability of trade agreements with US President Donald Trump, saying an agreement with him is “not worth the paper it is written on”. Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2026, the Nobel Prize-winning economist discussed the balance of economic power between the United States and the European Union, arguing that Europe’s fractured position had weakened its ability to negotiate collectively with Washington. Stiglitz said Trump had dealt with European countries one by one rather than negotiating with the bloc as a whole. He also criticised US trade and manufacturing policies, arguing that taxing imported coffee would not make America grow its own coffee because the country lacked the required climate.