Trump says U.S. reaches trade agreement with Europe with 15% tariff
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
EU-US trade deal: Business groups welcome certainty but say 15% tariff ‘still substantial burden’
US president Donald Trump met with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at his golf course in Scotland to finalise a framework trade deal with the EU. The agreement will see the US impose 15% tariffs on imports from the bloc, but is lower than the 30% Mr Trump threatened to impose from August 1. The deal also includes $600bn of EU investments in the US, along with EU purchases of US energy and military equipment. Mr Trump said the deal will “bring stability, it will bring predictability”, adding that it was not to be underestimated given the looming threat of 30% tariffs. But the 15% tariff on imports to the US “still represents a substantial burden for many industries,” said Mr Trump after the meeting, saying that Europe had been “very unfair to the U.S’s” Europe had also reached a deal with Britain, Japan, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
On Sunday, US president Donald Trump met with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at his golf course in Scotland to finalise a framework trade deal with the EU.
The agreement will see the US impose 15% tariffs on imports from the bloc.
This is up from the 10% currently in place, but is lower than the 30% Mr Trump threatened to impose from August 1 should a deal not have been reached.
Trade between the EU and the US accounts for almost a third of global trade.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Trump said: “I think this is the biggest deal ever made.”
Ms von der Leyen said the deal will “bring stability, it will bring predictability”.
Ms von der Leyen defended the trade deal as “the best we could get”, adding that it was not to be underestimated given the looming threat of 30% tariffs.
A baseline tariff rate of 15% on EU goods imported into the US would apply to cars, semiconductors and pharmaceutical goods, Ms von der Leyen said.
Meanwhile, a zero-for-zero tariff rate had been agreed for certain strategic products, including aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, and certain generic drugs.
No decision has been made on a rate for wine and spirits.
The deal also includes $600bn of EU investments in the US, along with EU purchases of US energy and military equipment.
Ibec: Brexit-style supports needed
Ibec chief executive Danny McCoy said the agreement brings an “end to a significant amount of uncertainty for some businesses”.
“However, a 15% tariff still represents a substantial burden for many industries.
“Sectors which rely heavily on the US market, and operate within small margins, will once again be significantly impacted by an additional 5% tariff on top of what they have already had to absorb over the past several months, and well in excess of the 1% effective tariff which existed before April.” He added:
“Our message to the Government, as it was with the 10% tariff, is that the most exposed sectors will require support similar to the interventions provided as a response to Brexit.
Chamber Ireland: Viable firms need tariff supports
Chamber Ireland welcomed the agreement on trade tariffs, with its chief executive Ian Talbot stating: “Certainty is critical for businesses, and we’ve seen the impact of uncertainty over the past couple of months in terms of investment.
“While tariffs are never welcome news for businesses on either side of the Atlantic, reaching an agreement — however imperfect — is preferable to no deal. It, at least, allows companies to plan and adapt in the short term.”
Mr Talbot also called for the EU and the Government to create a “fund to support viable businesses in adapting to new tariffs”, and also to ensure “potential arbitrage issues with Northern Ireland are clearly understood and addressed”.
This is the latest deal Mr Trump has reached with a few countries around the world before his August 1 deadline.
Agreements with the US have also been reached with Britain, Japan, Indonesia, and Vietnam, but Mr Trump’s administration has failed to deliver on a promise of “90 deals in 90 days”.
He has periodically railed against the EU, saying it was “formed to screw the US on trade”.
Mr Trump said that the EU wanted “to make a deal very badly” and said, as he met Ms von der Leyen, that Europe had been “very unfair to the US”.
His main bugbear is the US merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which reached $235bn in 2024, according to the US Census Bureau data.
The EU points to the US surplus in services, which it says partially redresses the balance.
Mr Trump also talked about the “hundreds of billions of dollars” that tariffs were bringing in.
Additional reporting Reuters
US-EU tariff deal: Both sides can claim victory, but devil may be in detail
Both sides can claim victory in US-EU tariff deal, but devil may be in detail. For the EU, the tariffs could have been worse at 15%, rather than the 30% that had been threatened – although it’s not as good as the UK’s 10% rate. The deal is being sold as a landmark moment in relations between the US and the EU. It comes days after the US struck another major agreement with Japan – there have also been deals with the UK, Vietnam and Indonesia. And with the US president in a deal-making mood, there could be more positive news for the global economy over the next 48 hours. The US and China are holding their next trade talks in Stockholm, Sweden, on Monday and Tuesday. But if talks between the world’s two biggest economies falter, global trade could still be heading for choppy waters ahead of months ahead in the months ahead of the US-China trade talks..
The US is the EU’s top trading partner
For the EU, the tariffs could have been worse at 15%, rather than the 30% that had been threatened – although it’s not as good as the UK’s 10% rate.
Both President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen can paint this as something of a victory.
This matters to both sides because so many businesses and jobs depend on what the EU calls “the world’s largest bilateral trade and investment relationship”.
That’s something we’ve also seen with the other deals that President Donald Trump has struck – his personal involvement is what has pushed them over the line – even when the prospects of a breakthrough did not seem bright.
Ultimately it took leaders from Washington and Brussels to sit down face to face to reach Sunday’s agreement.
After weeks of tense negotiations between their top trade officials, the EU and US have finally struck a deal – and it comes on the eve of America’s latest round of tariff talks with China.
I think it’s the biggest deal ever made – Trump
For the US that equates to the expectation of roughly $90bn (£67bn) of tariff revenue for government coffers – based on last year’s trade figures – plus there’s $600bn of investment now due to come into the country.
A lot of other big numbers have been thrown around in terms of how much the EU will invest in the US, but the devil will be in the detail.
Questions like exactly when those investments will be made, and in what areas, are for now, unanswered.
This deal is being sold as a landmark moment in relations between the US and the EU.
It has not been easy getting to this point.
Washington and the 27-nation bloc have both played hardball and neither was ready to give in easily, which is why these talks went down to the wire.
But neither side wanted these negotiations to drag on beyond the 1 August deadline.
For years, the US president has railed against what he regards as Europe’s unfair trade practices.
The first part of that is the deficit. Last year that meant the US bought $236bn of goods more from the EU than it sold to the bloc.
Trump takes the somewhat simplified view that this is American wealth needlessly leaving the country. The reality is that international trade is a more complex affair.
The other complaint has been that the EU’s strict regulations on everything from cars to chickens make it harder for American companies to sell their products in the EU than the other way round.
When we get more details of this deal, we may know how much has been done to address that.
But European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen seemed to acknowledge the need to tackle the deficit.
In announcing the agreement, she said: “We have to rebalance it. We have an excellent trade relation.
“It’s a huge volume of trade that we have together. So we will make it more sustainable.”
This deal shows how serious President Trump is about renegotiating how the US, the world’s biggest economy, does business with everyone else.
Given the EU consists of 27 very different countries, it has seemed one of the trickier trade agreements to pull off.
It comes days after the US struck another major agreement with Japan – there have also been deals with the UK, Vietnam and Indonesia.
The other big ones still on the table are with the three biggest US trade partners – Mexico, Canada and China.
And with the US president in a deal-making mood, there could be more positive news for the global economy over the next 48 hours.
For the third time in as many months, the US and China are holding their next trade talks in Stockholm, Sweden, on Monday and Tuesday
There is some expectation that higher tariffs could be suspended for another 90 days.
A few days ago Trump said the US was “getting along with China very well” and implied that the major sticking point of rare earth metals exports had been overcome.
With the broad outlines of an EU agreement in the hold, Washington’s trade negotiators have the wind in their sails going into talks with Beijing.
But China has so far taken a more uncompromising approach than other US trade partners.
And if talks between the world’s two biggest economies falter, global trade could still be heading for choppy waters in the months ahead.
Italy’s Meloni says it’s a ‘positive’ trade deal was reached but needs to see details
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday it is “positive” a trade deal has been reached between the European Union and the United States. Washington struck a framework trade deal with the EU imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods. Italy is one of the biggest European exporters to the U.S., with a trade surplus of more than 40 billion euros.
ROME, July 27 (Reuters) – Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday it is “positive” a trade deal has been reached between the European Union and the United States, adding, however, that she needs to see the details.
Washington struck a framework trade deal with the EU imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods.
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“I consider it positive that there is an agreement, but if I don’t see the details I am not able to judge it in the best way,” Meloni told journalists on the sidelines of a meeting in Addis Ababa.
Italy is one of the biggest European exporters to the U.S., with a trade surplus of more than 40 billion euros.
The Italian government, led by a nationalist coalition, had urged its European partners to avoid a direct clash between the two sides of the Atlantic.
In a statement, Meloni said that the agreement “ensures stability”, adding that the 15% “is sustainable, especially if this percentage is not added to previous duties, as was originally planned.”
“We are ready to activate support measures at the national level, but we ask that they also be activated at the European level for sectors that will be particularly affected by US tariff measures,” she added.
The statement was also signed by the leaders of the other two coalition parties: Antonio Tajani of Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini of the League.
Reporting by Sara Rossi and Giselda Vagnoni, editing by Diane Craft and Nick Zieminski
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U.S. And EU Reach Trade Deal—Setting Tariffs at 15%
The U.S. has agreed to a trade deal with the European Union, President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Sunday afternoon. The deal includes a 15% tariff rate on most exports, including European cars, from EU countries. Trump said the EU agreed to purchase $750 billion in energy, purchase an undetermined amount of military equipment, invest a further $600 billion in the United States and open the European economy to American goods at 0% tariffs. Trump later said European citizens would enjoy “diversification” from increased access to American cars and again predicted the deal would be popular. Trump previously raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50% in June, and the deal comes just days before the Aug. 1 deadline set for Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs. The 15% rate matches the rate secured in a deal with Japan, another major auto exporter, announced last week.
Key Facts
Both Trump and von der Leyen said the tariffs would be applied “across the board,” but Trump later said they would not apply to several major sectors the administration is planning specific tariffs for. Trump said the EU agreed to purchase $750 billion in energy, purchase an undetermined amount of military equipment, invest a further $600 billion in the United States and open the European economy to American goods at 0% tariffs. Von der Leyen said the U.S. agreed to “zero for zero tariffs” on some strategic goods, including “all aircraft and component parts, certain chemicals, certain generics, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials,” adding the two sides would work to expand that list. The 15% rate matches the rate secured in a deal with Japan, another major U.S. trade partner and auto exporter, announced last week, and the administration has suggested 15% would be the baseline. The European Union was previously facing a steep 30% tariff rate scheduled to go into effect on Aug. 1, and the deal alleviates immediate fears of an impending trade war between the two economies. This is a breaking story and will be updated.
Crucial Quote
“It will bring stability. It will bring predictability. That’s very important for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic,” von der Leyen said. “Basically, the European market is open. It’s 450 million people.”
Big Number
$235.6 billion. That was the United States’ trade deficit with the EU in 2024, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. Trump made reducing trade deficits between major trading partners like the EU a key plank in his economic policy, and on Sunday von der Leyen seemed on the same page. “We wanted to rebalance the trade relation and we wanted to do it in a way that trade goes on between the two of us across the Atlantic because the two biggest economies should have a good trade flow between us, and I think we hit exactly the point we wanted to find,” the European Commission president said. “Rebalance, but enable trade on both sides, which means good jobs on both sides of the Atlantic, means prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic, and that was important for us.”
What Goods Were Not Covered In The Deal?
Trump said pharmaceutical imports were “unrelated” to the deal reached Sunday. “Steel is staying the way it is,” Trump also added. “Steel and aluminum. That’s a worldwide thing that stays the way it is.” Trump previously raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50% in June. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also said the administration would soon announce a new plan for chip manufacturing, likely in the next two weeks. However, von der Leyen later contradicted this statement, insisting that the 15% would apply to pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
What To Watch For
Trump predicted the new deal would allow more American cars and American agriculture to enter the European market. “It’s open for our companies to go in and do a good job with it. I think you’ll like them,” Trump said, addressing von der Leyen. “I think you’ll like it.” Trump later said European citizens would enjoy “diversification” from increased access to American cars and again predicted the deal would be popular. “We’ll do it in very strict conjunction with the president [von der Leyen] and the European Union. And likewise, they’re coming into our country with great vigor. I think they’re going to make a lot of money with this.”
EU, US reach deal to avoid Trump tariff hike before deadline
The US and European Union agree to a deal that will see the bloc face 15% tariffs on most of its exports, including automobiles. The pact comes less than a week before a Friday deadline for President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs to take effect. Trump announced the deal on Sunday after a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The EU agreed to purchase $750 billion in energy, invest $600 billion (€511 billion) in the US, open up countries’ markets to trade with US at zero tariffs and purchase “vast amounts” of military equipment, Trump said. He said the charge would cover automobiles, though the European leader said the rate would be “all inclusive,” though Trump said later it did not include pharmaceuticals and metals. The US president has also imposed 25% levies on cars and double that rate on steel and aluminum, as well as copper.
The pact comes less than a week before a Friday deadline for President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs to take effect.
The president in May threatened to impose a 50% duty on nearly all EU goods, adding pressure that accelerated negotiations, before lowering that to 30%.
Trump announced the deal on Sunday after a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
He said the charge would cover automobiles. The European leader said the rate would be “all inclusive,” though Trump said later it did not include pharmaceuticals and metals. Steel and aluminum “stays the way it is,” the US president added.
“I think that basically concludes the deal,” Trump told reporters at his golf club in Turnberry, Scotland. “It’s the biggest of all the deals.”
Deal brings ‘stability’ and ‘predictability’
Von der Leyen said the agreement “will bring stability” and “it will bring predictability.”
The EU agreed to purchase $750 billion (€638 billion) in energy, invest $600 billion (€511 billion) in the US on top of existing investments, open up countries’ markets to trade with US at zero tariffs and purchase “vast amounts” of military equipment, Trump said.
The transatlantic pact removes a major risk for markets and the global economy – a trade war involving $1.7 trillion (€1.45 trillion) worth of cross-border commerce – even though it means European shipments to the US are getting hit with a higher tax at the border.
The goals, Trump said, were more production in the US and wider access for American exporters to the European market. Von der Leyen acknowledged that part of the drive behind the talks was a rebalancing of trade, but cast it as beneficial for both sides.
“The starting point was an imbalance,” von der Leyen said. “We wanted to rebalance the trade we made, and we wanted to do it in a way that trade goes on between the two of us across the Atlantic, because the two biggest economies should have a good trade flow.”
US and European negotiators had been zeroing in on an agreement this past week. Officials have discussed terms for a quota system for steel and aluminum imports, which would face a lower import tax below a certain threshold and would be charged the regular 50% rate above it.
Other areas not finalised
The EU had also been seeking quotas and a ceiling on future industry-specific tariffs, but it’s unclear if the initial agreement will shield the bloc from potential levies that have yet to be implemented.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said a decision on semiconductors, which, like drugs are subject to an ongoing investigation that opens the door to separate tariffs, would be dealt with in roughly “two weeks.”
The announcement capped off months of often tense shuttle diplomacy between Brussels and Washington. The EU had prepared to put levies on about €100 billion – about a third of American exports to the bloc – if a deal wasn’t reached and Trump followed through on his warning.
For weeks, the EU has indicated a willingness to accept an unbalanced pact involving a reduced rate of around 15%, while seeking relief on sectoral tariffs critical to the European economy. The US president has also imposed 25% levies on cars and double that rate on steel and aluminum, as well as copper.
Several exporters in Asia, including Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan, have negotiated reciprocal rates between 15% to 20%, and the EU saw Japan’s deal for 15% on autos as a breakthrough worth seeking as well. Washington’s talks also continue with Switzerland, South Korea and Taiwan.
(With additional reporting by Skylar Woodhouse)
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Source: https://www.axios.com/2025/07/27/trump-eu-trade-deal-tariffs