The US and EU have struck the “biggest deal ever made”, Donald Trump said.
The new trade deal sets a 15% tariff on EU goods – half of the US president’s staggering previous threat.
ReutersThe US and EU have reached a trade deal, Donald Trump and Ursula von der Leyen confirmed[/caption]
ReutersThe European Commission president and US president met in Turnberry, Scotland on Sunday[/caption]
APTrump said the deal will be ‘great for cars’[/caption]
Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the US will apply a 15% tariff on most EU imports, including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
Trump said after the meeting: “I think it’s great that we made a deal today instead of playing games – and maybe not making a deal at all.
“I’m going to let you say it, but I think it’s the biggest deal ever made.”
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen hailed it as a “huge deal” following “tough negotiations”.
She added: “Today’s deal creates certainty in uncertain times. It delivers stability and predictability for citizens on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Trump said the EU has promised to invest $600bn (£462bn) in the US and buy $750bn (£577bn) in US energy, as well as US military equipment.
Von der Leyen added Europe will replace Russian gas with US energy, purchasing $250bn (£192bn) each year for the rest of Trump’s term.
The US president told reporters the deal will be “great for cars” and have a big impact on agriculture.
“Zero for zero” tariffs were agreed on several products, like aircraft and some chemicals, von der Leyen added.
The agreement was announced on Sunday while Trump hosted the EU chief at one of his golf resorts in Scotland.
Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin welcomed the deal.
“That is good for businesses, investors and consumers. It will help protect many jobs in Ireland,” he said.
“The negotiations to get us to this point have been long and complex, and I would like to thank both teams for their patient work.
“We will now study the detail of what has been agreed, including its implications for businesses exporting from Ireland to the US, and for different sectors operating here.”
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on X that the talks “succeeded in averting a trade conflict that would have hit Germany’s export-oriented economy hard”.
The US and the 27-member EU have long enjoyed one of the world’s biggest trade relationships.
Total trade in goods between the EU and US reached $975.9bn (£751.4bn) in 2024, estimates say.
The US imported around $606bn (£451bn) worth of goods from the EU and exported around $370bn (£276bn) last year.
Trump had earlier slammed the trade deficit, saying the US is “losing” and demanding “fairness” – especially for US car and agriculture exports.
The US president had threatened a huge 30% tariff on the EU – a rate EU leaders fought hard to avoid.
The deal was struck just days before Trump’s August 1 deadline, when harsh tariffs would have kicked in if talks had failed.
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