Overview

• In a July 4 ARD-Morgenmagazin interview, Lagarde presented deeper single-market integration as Europe’s response to President Trump’s tariff policies.
• She recognized the United States as a key trading partner but insisted that Europe must prioritize growing its own economic capacities.
• Lagarde highlighted the bloc’s “enormous potential” for expansion when goods, capital and people move freely across borders.
• She advocated for eliminating internal frictions by unifying licensing procedures and standardizing national regulations among member states.
• Her remarks build on a long-standing agenda, including the 2015 Capital Markets Union proposal and May’s digital-euro pilot to reduce reliance on external financing.