E VER SINCE President Donald Trump unveiled his Liberation Day tariffs in April, the world’s biggest trading relationship had been on the rocks. The European Union swung from trying to sweet-talk America into making a deal, to threatening retaliation. On July 27th dealmaking won out. At his golf course in Scotland the president and Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, unveiled the outline of a preliminary trade agreement. The bloc has pulled off a tricky balancing act: making enough concessions to keep Mr Trump happy, while limiting the economic damage.