US and EU reach trade deal
Trump's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen resulted in a tariff agreement that will avert a transatlantic trade war
What happened
President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Sunday struck a last-minute deal in Scotland to avert a major transatlantic trade war.
After months of tense talks, both sides agreed to a 15% U.S. import tariff on most EU goods — half the previously threatened rate. The EU will also spend $750 billion on U.S. energy products and invest a further $600 billion in the American economy over three years.
Who said what
"It solves a lot of stuff," Trump said, describing the agreement as "really the biggest trading partnership in the world." Von der Leyen admitted that the talks were "tough," but said both sides worked hard to "come to a common position." EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said that Trump was a “very tough negotiator."
The agreement stabilizes the "biggest and deepest commercial and investment relationship the global economy knows," said Jorn Fleck, the senior director of the Atlantic Council's Europe Center, per CNN. But it "doesn't enhance trade," said economist Joe Brusuelas at consulting firm RSM. "You're going to pay more for your European imports."
What next?
Details of the deal "remain murky," said CNN. Neither party published the text of the agreement and "they appeared to have different interpretations of some of the details," said The Wall Street Journal. Still, markets are expected to respond positively to the announcement.
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