U.S. Reaches Trade Deal With Europe

New York Times

a day ago

The European Union and the United States agreed on Sunday to a broad-brush trade deal that sets a 15 percent tariff on most goods, including cars, President Trump announced, at least temporarily bringing an end to months of tense negotiations with a bloc that is the United States' single biggest source of imports.
Under the agreement, the European Union will invest heavily in American energy, while also buying American military equipment, Mr. Trump said.
The agreement will 'rebalance, but enable trade on both sides,' Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said as she sat next to Mr. Trump as the leaders made the announcement.
'We made it,' Mr. Trump said.
Though the agreement appears to be a preliminary one that leaves many questions to be resolved, it could bring a measure of calm to one of the world's most important economic relationships and allay fears of an escalating trade war. The European Union last year accounted for nearly $610 billion of the $3.3 trillion in goods imported by the United States.
The tariff rate is higher than the 10 percent tax that Europeans had been angling for, and that Mr. Trump applied to British goods. But 15 percent mirrors the main tariff rate of the U.S.-Japanese trade agreement that was announced last Tuesday, and is lower than the 19 and 20 percent rates imposed on several Southeast Asian countries.
The deal followed weeks of unpredictable talks. A month ago, the Europeans believed they were close to a deal, only to have Mr. Trump send them a letter on July 11 threatening a rate of 30 percent unless an agreement was reached by Aug. 1.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.