What's in the US-EU trade deal depends on who is doing the talking

Yahoo

3 days ago

President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shook hands Sunday over a trade agreement touted as being largely concluded, but days later, there are still plenty of disagreements about exactly what is in the pact.
Perhaps nowhere is the divide more stark than in the summaries published by each side — one from the White House and another from the European Commission. They depart in at least five areas, both in terms of the deal and the firmness of the commitments.
In just one example, the White House summary touts "historic structural reforms and strategic commitments," while the Europeans call the handshake deal "not legally binding," with more negotiations to come.
Trump quipped Sunday that a deal would be "the end of it" and that it would be a number of years "before we have to even discuss it again."
That is unlikely to be the case, which even Trump's aides acknowledge. The difference is likely to come to a head quickly as negotiations continue between the US and Europe over legally binding text and as trade watchers wait for a formal joint statement on the deal that the teams still hope to unveil this week.
A range of areas of disagreement
Clarity on at least one headline area is clear: an agreement for 15% tariffs on nearly all EU goods, including autos, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals, that will be exempt from separate Trump plans there.
But the divides are evident once you go deeper.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged that a lot remains to be worked out when he told CNBC on Tuesday that "there's plenty of horse trading still to do," even as he argued that the "fundamentals" are set.
Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
Trump has also already set a pattern of fuzzy initial details on his deals, including a recent pact with Japan, but a comparison of the two documents summarizing the Europe deal underlines differences on many of the key aspects.
On the issue of new investments by Europe — $750 billion in US energy and additional corporate investments of $600 billion — the summary from the US side described them as firm commitments.
The European language is much less solid, saying it "intends to procure" additional energy and that European companies "have expressed interest" in additional investments.
More differences are seen on whether the deal will mean European markets are "totally open," as Trump has said.
The European summary of provisions around fish says they will allow "limited quantities" and only "certain non-sensitive" agricultural products.
Another highly touted part of the agreement from the US side is a provision for Europe to purchase military equipment. As Trump said on Sunday, "They're going to be purchasing hundreds of billions of dollars worth of military equipment."
That part isn't even mentioned in the European summary.
Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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