President Donald Trump announced that the United States has finalized a trade agreement with the European Union.
Speaking to reporters, he said the deal will include a 15% tariff on most imports, including automobiles. The agreement follows months of negotiations between the two sides. The agreement aligns with a series of recent trade deals negotiated by the Trump administration, including a similar 15% tariff arrangement recently announced with Japan, the Washington Examiner reported.
The trade agreement marks a significant increase in tariffs within the U.S.-EU relationship. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the deal as a step toward “rebalancing” trade between the United States and Europe. The agreement was finalized during a meeting between the two leaders while Trump was visiting Scotland.
“We are agreeing that the tariff straight across for automobiles and everything else will be a straight-across tariff of 15%,” Trump said. “So we have a tariff of 15%. 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 to von der Leyen.
Von der Leyen announced that, as part of the agreement, Europe will purchase $150 billion worth of U.S. energy and commit an additional $600 billion in investments into the United States. Just hours before the deal was finalized, both Trump and von der Leyen appeared uncertain about reaching an agreement as they addressed the press.
“We look forward to talking to see if we can do something,” Trump had said of the negotiations. “We’ve had, a very good relationship over the years, but it’s been a very one-sided transaction, very unfair to the United States.” In response to a reporter’s question, von der Leyen agreed with Trump that a “rebalancing” of the U.S.-EU trade relationship—worth billions of dollars—is necessary.