Trump's EU-US Trade Deal Could Cost Europe for Years to Come
After all, the 15% tariff that America will now charge on almost all European imports is half the 30% tariff that Donald Trump had threatened to impose from Aug. 1. It is also no higher than the baseline tariffs that the US president is imposing on many other trading partners, so the European Union will suffer little competitive disadvantage. Sure, the new taxes are a blow, but at least this draws a line under the uncertainty that has hung over transatlantic trade so far this year. 'We are creating more predictability for our businesses,' said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. 'This is necessary for our companies to plan and invest.'
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Under the Trump administration's new import duties, most countries will face a baseline tariff of at least 15%, although other nations will faces levies of more than 40%. The U.S. effective tariff rate is now 17%, according to Fitch Ratings — the highest in decades. That could mean pricier garments from Vietnam, shoes and toys from China, chocolate from Switzerland, and coffee from Brazil, according to economists. As a result, the revised U.S. tariffs could cost Americans an average of $2,048 per year, according to a new analysis from the National Taxpayers Union, a nonpartisan advocacy organization. Mr. Trump has argued his tariff strategy is necessary to correct what he views as unfair trading practices and revive American manufacturing, and points to still-fairly-low inflation rates. But many economists warn tariffs can lead to higher inflation and more sluggish economic growth, and some of the president's early trade moves rattled financial markets. The White House has said that Mr. Trump's trade policies benefit Americans. "President Trump's trade deals have unlocked unprecedented market access for American exports to economies that in total are worth over $32 trillion with 1.2 billion people," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. "As these historic trade deals and the Administration's pro-growth domestic agenda of deregulation and The One Big Beautiful Bill's tax cuts take effect, American businesses and families alike have the certainty that the best is yet to come." On social media, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the tariffs are "a knockout win over the distorted global trading order that has disadvantaged American workers, farmers, and manufacturers for decades." 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Proto Labs Inc (PRLB) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Revenue and Strategic Growth ...
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