The European Union has recommended that employees traveling to the United States utilize only essential electronic devices to mitigate the risk of espionage, according to the latest reports. This update to travel protocols arises in the context of increasing trade disputes between Brussels and Washington regarding US tariff increases.
The reports indicate that the European Commission (EC) has implemented these new guidelines for personnel attending forthcoming meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Officials have been advised to carry burner phones—prepaid devices that are not associated with their identities—and simplified laptops with minimal data. Additionally, they have been instructed to deactivate their devices and store them in anti-surveillance sleeves upon their arrival in the United States.
These new protocols are similar to those applied for travel to Ukraine and China due to concerns regarding surveillance from Russian or Chinese security and intelligence services, according to the sources.
The European Commission has confirmed that it has revised its travel guidance, although it did not detail the specific modifications.
This action follows the announcement by US President Donald Trump regarding ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs earlier this month, during which he implemented a 20% reciprocal duty on imports from the EU, in addition to the existing 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. He accused the European Union of unfairly benefiting from a 39% duty on American goods. Although Trump subsequently suspended the increases for a period of 90 days, a baseline import duty of 10% remains in effect.
The European Union condemned this action and agreed to impose its own tariffs on American products, although it has also chosen to delay this decision in favor of negotiations for a new trade agreement with the United States. However, the EU has cautioned that it may retaliate with tariffs targeting major US technology companies such as Meta and Google if negotiations do not succeed.
The tensions between the EU and the US extend beyond trade issues. Trump’s threats to withdraw US security guarantees unless the EU increases its NATO funding led to a push for militarization across the bloc last month. Additionally, Brussels has expressed frustration over Trump Administration’s cosying up with Putin’s regime in Moscow.