US, EU Strike Trade Deal; European Bloc To Face 15% Tariffs On Most Exports

The US and European Union agreed to an understanding that will see the bloc face 15% tariffs on most of its exports, staving off a trade war that could have delivered a hammer blow to the global economy.

The announcement comes less than a week before a Friday deadline for 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%.

President Donald Trump announced Sunday after a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the charge would cover automobiles “and everything else.” The European leader said the rate would be “all inclusive,” though Trump said later it did not include pharmaceuticals and metals. It capped off months of often tense shuttle diplomacy between Brussels and Washington.

“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.”

Von der Leyen said the agreement “will bring stability” and “it will bring predictability.”

The EU agreed to purchase $750 billion in energy, invest $600 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.