President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the U.S. reached a trade deal with the European Union (EU), following discussions with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen days before the administration’s tariff deadline of Friday, Aug. 1.
Trump said that the deal imposes a 15-percent tariff on most European goods to the U.S., including cars. Meanwhile, the EU has agreed to accept U.S. imports without tariffs, according to Trump.
“We have the opening up of all of the European countries, which I think I could say were essentially closed. I mean, you weren’t exactly taking our orders. You weren’t exactly taking our agriculture,” he added, speaking pointedly at von der Leyen while the two were addressing the media in at Trump’s golf course in Turnberry, Scotland.
The 15-percent tariff rate is lower than the 30% rate Trump had previously threatened against the United States’ largest trading partner, but higher than the 10-percent baseline tariffs the EU was hoping for.
Trump said that the EU also agreed to purchase $750 billion worth of U.S. energy and invest an additional $600 billion worth of investments into the U.S. above current levels.
