WORLD
US-EU reach trade deal; new tariff rate of 15% on all EU imports to the US
- IBJ Bureau
- Jul 28, 2025
The US struck a framework trade agreement with the European Union (EU) on Sunday, imposing a 15 per cent import tariff on most EU goods. The new tariff rate is half of the threatened rate and averts a bigger trade war between the two allies that account for almost a third of global trade.
US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the deal at Mr Trump’s luxury golf course in western Scotland after an hour-long meeting that pushed the hard-fought deal over the line following months of negotiations.
“I think this is the biggest deal ever made,” Mr Trump told reporters, lauding EU plans to invest some $600 billion in the US and dramatically increase its purchases of US energy and military equipment.
Mr Trump added that the deal, which tops a $550-billion deal signed with Japan last week, would expand ties between the trans-Atlantic powers after years of what he called unfair treatment of US exporters.
Ms Von der Leyen, describing Trump as a tough negotiator, said that the 15 per cent tariff applied “across the board”, later telling reporters that it was “the best we could get”.
“We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it is a big deal. It is a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability,” she added.
The baseline 15 per cent tariff will still be seen by many in Europe as too high compared with Europe’s initial hopes to secure a zero-for-zero tariff deal.
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