US and EU reach trade deal to avoid tariffs – DW – 07/27/2025
The United States and the European Union on Sunday reached a trade deal, ending a months-long transatlantic trade standoff.
"We have reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody," US President Donald Trump told reporters after talks with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland.
Ahead of the crunch talks, Trump gave "a good 50-50 chance" on Friday for a deal with the European Union to be reached. Brussels was seeking to finalize a trade agreement with Washington before the August 1 deadline.
The trade pact means the bloc would avoid the 30% tariffs that Trump has threatened on all goods from the EU.
Most EU goods already face a 10% tariff, with levies of 25% on cars and car parts and 50% on steel and aluminum.
On Sunday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the August 1 deadline was firm.
"No extensions, no more grace periods. August 1, the tariffs are set, they'll go into place, Customs will start collecting the money and off we go," Lutnick told the US broadcaster Fox News.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
European negotiators were aiming for a baseline levy of around 15 percent on EU exports to the US — the level secured by Japan.
Any deal will need to be approved by all member states. EU ambassadors, on a visit to Greenland, were updated on the negotiations by the Commission on Sunday morning, and would meet again after any agreement.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
DW
an hour ago
- DW
Colombia: Ex-president Uribe convicted of witness tampering – DW – 07/29/2025
The verdict is the first time a former Colombian head of state has been convicted of a crime. Alvaro Uribe faces up to 12 years in prison. Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was found guilty of witness tampering on Monday. A court in Bogota found that Uribe, 73, who led the South American nation from 2002 to 2010, had bribed witnesses to lie for him in a separate investigation into alleged ties to right-wing paramilitary groups responsible for human rights violations. Judge Sandra Heredia of the 44th Criminal Circuit Court said Uribe had tried to persuade jailed ex-paramilitary Juan Guillermo Monsalve not to testify about the former president's alleged links to the illegal armed groups. Uribe could be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison in the case, which marks the first time an ex-president in Colombia has been found guilty in criminal court. The case, which has been highly politicized, dates back to 2012, when the conservative ex-leader accused left-wing senator Ivan Cepeda before the Supreme Court of attempting to tie him to right-wing paramilitary groups fighting Marxist rebels in Colombia's decades-old armed conflict. Instead of prosecuting Cepeda, the court chose to probe his allegations against Uribe. The investigation against Uribe began in 2018. A year later, thousands protested in Bogota and Medellin to denounce his indictment. After several attorney generals had sought to close the case, the probe gained new momentum in 2024 when Luz Camargo was appointed by current president Gustavo Petro — Colombia's first-ever leftist president, who was himself a former guerilla and Uribe's political archrival. The right-wing paramilitary groups emerged during the 1980s to fight left-wing guerrillas engaged in an armed uprising against the Colombian state since the 1960s. The Marxist rebels were particularly active in rural Colombia, where they pledged to fight poverty and defend marginalized communities. Fuelled by the lucrative cocaine trade, dozens of rival armed groups sprang up, resulting in a deadly conflict over resources and trafficking routes that is still ongoing today. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Uribe, who served during a particularly violent period of Colombia's conflict, took a hard line against drug cartels and the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). His successor and former political ally, Juan Manuel Santos, signed a peace deal with FARC in 2016, a move that was viewed as a deep betrayal by Uribe, who blamed his father's death on a botched kidnapping attempt by FARC rebels. Uribe remains a divisive figure in Colombia and a prominent conservative voice because of his anti-FARC history. His stance has become more popular in recent months, as more recent peace efforts with armed groups have failed under current leader Petro, who has been in office since 2022. The ex-leader is also being investigated in other cases, including a probe into a 1997 massacre by paramilitaries of subsistence farmers during his term as governor of western Antioquia. He is also facing a complaint in Argentina — which has universal jurisdiction —stemming from his alleged involvement in more than 6,000 civilian executions and forced disappearances by the Colombian military while he was president. Uribe has insisted that the proceedings against him are the result of "political vengeance."
DW
3 hours ago
- DW
Putin has 10-12 day deadline to reach Ukraine deal — Trump – DW – 07/28/2025
US President Donald Trump escalated pressure on his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for Russia to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or face consequences. US President Donald Trump said Monday he will set a new deadline of "10 or 12 days" for Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. "I'm disappointed in President Putin," Trump told reporters as he met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his luxury golf course in Turnberry, Scotland. "I'm going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today. There's no reason in waiting, we just don't see any progress being made," he added. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Before returning to the White House in January, Trump had vowed to end the conflict within 24 hours, though he never revealed how. Trump set the 50-day deadline for Putin earlier this month after repeatedly airing frustration with his opposite number in Moscow for continuing attacks on Ukraine. The US president has threatened new sanctions on Russia and buyers of its exports unless a peace deal is reached. Trump has also aired frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. None more so than when the pair had an acrimonious meeting at the White House in February when, in full view of the media, the US president earned praise from Russian officials for confronting his Ukrainian counterpart, and later declaring Zelenskyy was "not ready for peace." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Once again on Monday, Trump talked up his tough stance on the Russian president, but he has not always followed up on his promises regarding Putin. "We thought we had that settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever," Trump said. "And I say that's not the way to do it." Ukraine on Monday praised Trump for saying he would cut the 50-day deadline. "Clear stance and expressed determination — right on time, when a lot can change through strength for real peace," Zelenskyy posted on X. "I thank President Trump for his focus on saving lives and stopping this horrible war. Ukraine remains committed to peace and will work tirelessly with the US to make both our countries safer, stronger, and more prosperous." "Thanks to President Trump for standing firm and delivering a clear message of peace through strength," Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak said on social media, adding: "When America leads with strength, others think twice." Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, an escalation of a conflict that began with Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Last week, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations concluded negotiations in Istanbul by agreeing to carry out another prisoner exchange, but there was nothing that resembled a move towards peace. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Int'l Business Times
6 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
EU Car Industry Sees Relief - And Pain - In US Trade Deal
The car industry in the EU on Monday viewed the trade deal struck with the United States as a de-escalation -- but one that still puts sand in its gearbox. German auto companies in particular were in for a great deal of export pain, as their share prices indicated. Shares in Porsche, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz all lost more than three percent in trading Monday. The agreement eases "the intense uncertainty surrounding transatlantic trade relations in recent months", Europe's main auto group, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), said in a statement welcoming the deal "in principle". But it noted that the 15 percent US tariffs imposed on EU goods including cars "will continue to have a negative impact not just for industry in the EU but also in the US". German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his country's economy -- the biggest in Europe -- would face "substantial damage" from the US tariffs agreed in the deal. But, he said, "we couldn't expect to achieve any more". The United States is a key market for European automakers, which last year sent nearly 750,000 of its cars to it, representing nearly a quarter of the sector's overall exports. While the 15 percent rate is less than the 27.5 percent tariff US President Donald Trump imposed in April, it is far higher than the 2.5 percent levy European car manufacturers faced before Trump's return to the White House. A German analyst, Stefan Bratzel, said it could be expected that US consumers would pay two-thirds of the price hike caused by the tariff, while car exporters would probably swallow the other third. For those companies, "we might have to see whether it is possible for cost-cutting somewhere else," he said. The 15 percent rate was similar to one reached in the deal the United States struck with Japan, another major car-exporting country. For German carmakers, the United States represents around 13 percent of their exports. In the short term, a 15 percent tariff will cost them "billions each year", said Hildegard Mueller, head of the national automobile manufacturers' association VDA. The situation has forced all the automakers to lower their 2025 profit forecasts and to look for ways to alleviate the pressure. BMW boss Oliver Zipse suggested in June that Europe could get rid of its own tariffs on imported vehicles made in the United States. That could benefit his company, which last year exported 153,000 vehicles from the Americas, and imported into Europe 92,000 cars that were assembled in the United States. Similarly, Mercedes is looking for help from the national or EU level. "The deal reached between the EU and the US is a first, important step that needs to be followed by other measures," a company spokeswoman told AFP. "Politicians need to keep working to get rid of obstacles getting in the way of free trade. We are counting on the EU and US to continue their constructive dialogue in the future," she said. Volkswagen is also facing tariff hardship for vehicles it makes in Mexico for the US market, announcing that its first-quarter results had been shaved by around 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) from a year earlier. Its Porsche and Audi cars are also exposed as they have no production factories in the United States. On Monday, Audi cut its revenue and profit targets for this year, though it said it expects them to rise next year. Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume has suggested reaching a side deal with the United States that would take into account investments his company could make in that country. Volvo Cars, the Swedish carmaker owned by China's Geely Holding, has announced steep second-quarter losses because of tariffs. The European auto sector is now lobbying the European Commission to delay the timetable for making the European car market go all-electric, and to provide some sort of industry stimulus. With no help, European car factories, already facing uphill challenges, "will have to reduce production," said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research. That, he said, could affect up to 70,000 jobs in Germany alone.
