Trump Tries to Woo Skeptical Europe
The EU is one of Washington's top commercial partners, and is the largest trading bloc in the world, but trade negotiations have been tumultuous in Trump's first months as President, with Trump repeatedly calling the European Union 'difficult to deal with.' During his first term as President, Trump even said that the bloc was 'formed in order to take advantage of us on trade', something he has often repeated since taking office again.
The EU is currently facing the prospect of tariffs on 70% of its exports, including 50% on steel and aluminium, 25% on automobiles, and baseline 10% on most exports as a whole, which Trump has threatened would increase to 30% next month without a deal. Still, earlier this month, the European Union suspended its retaliatory measures against Trump's tariffs in hopes of forming a deal, and Trump and von der Leyen seem optimistic about their chances.
Read More: E.U. Delays Retaliatory Measures Against U.S. In Hopes of Reaching a Deal by Aug. 1 After Trump Announces 30% Tariff
'Following a good call with [Trump], we have agreed to meet in Scotland on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong,' von der Leyen said in a post on X on Friday. Trump said Friday prior to leaving America that there is a '50-50' chance that a deal will get done with the EU, something he repeated to reporters from the golf course on Sunday.
Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security at the European Commission, said on social media Sunday he is going to join von der Leyen in her discussion with Trump.
During his visit, Trump is also set to speak with Scottish First Minister John Swinney, and, on Monday, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer. As Trump arrived on Friday, though, he made clear that trade with the United States is not the only place where his thoughts on the region lie.
'Stop the windmills. You're ruining your countries,' Trump said, addressing Europe as a whole on the airport tarmac in Glasgow Friday. 'You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds.'
He also criticized the continent on their immigration policy, 'On immigration, you better get your act together. You're not going to have Europe anymore,' he continued.
As Trump criticized Europe's policies, protests have raged on in Scotland as a response to Trump's arrival. Demonstrations outside of the U.S. consulate in the country's capital of Edinburgh included protests around Trump's recent embroilment with the Jeffrey Epstein controversy, the cost of Trump's visit on Scottish taxpayers, and his immigration policies in the U.S. As he played golf on Sunday morning, a handful of pro-Trump supporters chanted their support for the president and waved an American flag.
As the huge security operation worked on the golf course to keep both media and onlookers at bay, reports from local media shared that Trump's golf cart could be heard blaring music, to drown out noise from protesters, says Sky News.
Despite the fact that Scotland is the birthplace of Trump's mother, he is not particularly popular in the country, with one recent poll done by marketing and public opinion research company Ipsos finding that 71% of people in Scotland have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, as opposed to 57% of people in the United Kingdom overall.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
VW's Audi cuts full-year outlook, citing tariffs and restructuring
(Reuters) -Volkswagen's premium brand Audi on Monday cut its its full-year guidance, citing the impact of higher U.S. import tariffs and restructuring expenses. The company now expects revenue between 65 billion euros ($76 billion) and 70 billion euros, down from a previous range of 67.5 billion to 72.5 billion, and an operating margin between 5 and 7%, down from a previous range of 7 to 9%. Audi said it is still assessing the implications of the recently concluded tariff agreement between Washington and the European Union. ($1 = 0.8535 euros)
CNBC
18 minutes ago
- CNBC
U.S. trade deal offers initial relief but leaves Europe on the backfoot
After an initial sigh of relief at the U.S. and European Union avoiding further escalation by striking a trade agreement, concerns have grown that the framework deal is "unbalanced" and leaves Europe on the backfoot. The two trading partners on Sunday announced an agreement that includes a 15% tariff rate on most EU goods to the U.S. Some goods like aircraft components and certain chemicals are not set to be hit by tariffs, while autos will see duties reduced to the 15% rate. The agreement also includes provisions for the EU purchasing U.S. energy and increasing its investments in the country. The agreement halves the 30% tariff rate U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened the EU with and avoids any further escalation through for example countermeasures. Yet analysts and economists remain cautious as to the impact on both sides as negotiations are still set to take place. "It's a climb down from a much worse place," Cailin Birch, global economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit, told CNBC's "Europe Early Edition" on Monday. However, she noted, "a 15% tariff is still a big escalation from where we were pre-Trump 2.0." Birch also pointed out that a lot of uncertainty remains, with details about the steel and pharmaceutical sector still being unclear. European leaders struck similar notes overnight, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz saying that while the EU was able to protect its core interests, he would have welcomed further easing of transatlantic trade. France's minister for Europe, Benjamin Haddad, meanwhile said in a Google-translated social media post that while the deal would bring "temporary stability" to some sectors, it is "unbalanced" overall. Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg, warned that while the "crippling uncertainty" was over, the damage for Europe is more frontloaded in comparison to the long-term impact on the U.S. "The deal is asymmetric. The US gets away with a substantial increase in its tariffs on imports from the EU and has secured further EU concessions to boot. In his apparent zero-sum mentality, Trump can claim that as a "win" for him," he said. As it will take some time for U.S. consumers to feel the impact of tariffs, Trump's supporters may not immediately realize they are being hurt by the president's policies, Schmieding explained. This may encourage Trump to continue to pursue economic policies that are "bad" for the U.S., he added. The Economist Intelligence Unit's Birch meanwhile pointed out that the U.S. also did not get everything it may have wanted from the deal. "Both sides are, are kind of set back a bit from this deal," she said. "The U.S. didn't make any headway on a lot of issues that have in recent history been critical to their trade approach to the EU. So agricultural standards, the tech industry regulating standard that has been a big bugbear, there was no real mention of those standards whatsoever," Birch explained, acknowledging that the deal is not yet done.
Newsweek
20 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Global Markets Welcome US-EU Trade Deal
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Financial markets around the world welcomed a framework trade agreement on Monday between the United States and the European Union with a 15 percent U.S. tariff on most EU goods and billions of dollars of European investment. U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the agreement on Sunday at Trump's luxury golf course in Scotland following months of difficult negotiations. Why It Matters The deal averts a devastating trade war between the two economies, which represent the world's largest trade volume, encompassing hundreds of millions of people and trillions of dollars in commerce. Trump had this month threatened to impose a 30 percent tariff on goods from the E.U., which would have meant American consumers facing higher prices on everything from French cheese to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals. The EU had prepared retaliatory tariffs on hundreds of American products, including beef, auto parts, beer and Boeing airplanes, which could have sent shock waves through global economies. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after reaching a trade deal between the U.S. and the EU at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, on July 27. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after reaching a trade deal between the U.S. and the EU at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, on July 27. Jacquelyn Martin/AP What To Know The deal provides clarity for companies after months of uncertainty, and global markets breathed a sigh of relief as they opened on Monday, with stocks rising and the euro firmer. S&P 500 futures rose 0.4 percent, and the Nasdaq futures gained 0.5 percent while the euro firmed against the dollar, sterling and yen. European futures surged almost 1 percent. Under the deal, the EU seeks to invest some $600 billion in the U.S. and ramp up its purchases of U.S. military equipment and buy $750 billion worth of U.S. energy. "I think this is the biggest deal ever made," Trump told reporters in Scotland on Sunday. Von der Leyen described Trump as a tough negotiator. She told reporters that the 15 percent tariff, which applied "across the board," was "the best we could get." In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.27 percent early on Monday, just shy of the almost four-year high it touched last week. Japan's Nikkei index fell 0.8 percent after hitting a one-year high last week when Japan struck its own trade deal with the U.S., which also included a 15 percent U.S. tariff on Japanese goods. China's blue-chip stocks rose 0.3 percent on Monday morning, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index put on 0.75 percent. The Australian dollar, often seen as a proxy for risk appetite, was at $0.657 to the U.S. dollar, near an eight-month high set last week. What People Are Saying European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen told reporters: "We should not forget where we would have been on the first of August. We would have been at 30 percent, and it would have been much more difficult to get down now to the 15 percent. Fifteen percent is certainly a challenge for some, but we should not forget that it keeps us the access to the American market, and what we are also doing intensively is diversifying to other regions of the world." Prashant Newnaha, a senior Asia-Pacific rates strategist at TD Securities, told Reuters: "A 15 percent tariff on European goods, forced purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment and zero tariff retaliation by Europe, that's not negotiation, that's the art of the deal. A big win for the U.S." Marc Velan, the head of investments at Lucerne Asset Management in Singapore, told Reuters: "A major tail-risk has now been defused. … Markets are interpreting this as a sign of stability and predictability returning to trade policy." What Happens Next Trade negotiators from the U.S. and China—the world's two largest economies—are due to meet in Stockholm on Monday. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach an agreement with the Trump administration. Many other countries are racing to finalize deals before an August 1 deadline.
