US, EU strike trade deal days ahead of deadline
The U.S. and European Union have agreed to a trade deal, days before a deadline that would’ve seen the Trump administration’s tariffs revert to their April 2 rates. President Donald Trump announced the deal Sunday, July 27, following a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his Turnberry golf course in Scotland.
The deal will maintain a 15% tariff on most EU goods, as opposed to a 30% tariff the president had initially proposed. Additionally, the EU will accept U.S. imports without any tariffs, according to Trump.
“It’s great that we made a deal instead of playing games,” Trump told reporters following the meeting.
According to Politico, the deal includes a promise by the EU to purchase $750 billion of energy from the U.S., as well as military equipment investments totaling $600 billion. The 15% tariff rate will be applied to most imports from the EU, including cars. However, pharmaceuticals were not included in the deal.
According to NPR, steel and aluminum will also be exempted from the deal, with Trump describing those rates as a “worldwide thing that stays the way it is.”
“You’re known as a tough negotiator and dealmaker,” von der Leyen told Trump during the meeting. “If we are successful, I think it would be the biggest deal each of us has ever struck.”
Trump similarly told reporters the deal is the “biggest in the world.”
Speaking to NPR, Cecilia Malmstrom, a former trade commissioner with the EU, said that trade between the Union’s 27-member states and the U.S. reaches some $4 billion daily.
Meanwhile, South China Morning Post is reporting that ahead of U.S.-China trade talks slated to take place in Stockholm on Monday, July 28, the two countries have already agreed to extend a pause on their retaliatory tariffs, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
