Energy, defence and cars feature in sweeping US-EU pact
A major US-EU trade war has been narrowly averted after President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck a last-minute tariff deal during talks at Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland.
15% tariff replaces steeper threat
Under the agreement, the US will impose a flat 15% tariff on most EU imports – including cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors – in exchange for a multi-billion-dollar package of European commitments to buy US energy and defence products.
The EU has agreed to spend $250bn annually on US energy for three years and invest $600bn in America. It will also buy US military equipment worth “hundreds of billions of dollars”, Trump claimed.
Mixed reaction from Europe
While Brussels accepted the 15% tariff – lower than Trump’s threatened 30% – it failed to secure relief from existing 50% duties on steel and aluminium. Von der Leyen said the deal provides “certainty in uncertain times”, but acknowledged the tariffs remain a challenge.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the breakthrough as a “lifeline” for export-heavy economies, with German carmakers now facing a reduced US tariff of 15% from 27.5%. Yet Germany’s influential Federation of Industries criticised the pact as “inadequate”.
France calls it ‘unbalanced’
French EU affairs minister Benjamin Haddad branded the outcome “unbalanced”, warning that it merely offered “temporary stability”.
Trump claims historic victory
Trump hailed the deal as “probably the biggest ever”, claiming it would end what he called an “unfair” and “one-sided” trading relationship. He warned earlier that failure to strike a deal would have triggered 30% tariffs on EU goods from 1 August.
Despite the accord, uncertainty lingers, with US probes into European aerospace and other sectors still pending. A senior US official hinted aerospace tariffs may yet be avoided – but stopped short of committing.
