Trump announces US and EU reached framework for a trade deal
CNN
By Auzinea Bacon, Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States and the European Union reached a framework for a trade deal, after talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland.
Trump announced a 15% across-the-board levy on imports from the 27-nation European Union, ending a monthslong saga with America’s largest trading partner after the bloc sought to keep baseline tariffs at 10%.
“We are agreeing that the tariff straight across for automobiles and everything else will be a straight-across tariff of 15%,” Trump said.
Speaking alongside von der Leyen at his golf course on the western coast of Scotland, Trump said the EU “is going to agree to purchase from the United States $750 billion worth of energy. They are going to agree to invest into the United States $600 billion more than they’re investing already.”
“All of the countries will be opened up to trade with the United States at zero tariffs, and they’re agreeing to purchase a vast amount of military equipment,” Trump added.
Trump said the agreement with the European Union “is the biggest deal ever made.”
Specifics of the deal have not been disclosed.
The European Union is one of America’s top trading partners. Collectively, the two trading sides exchanged $975 billion worth of goods last year, according to US Commerce Department data. The trade deal, while far from final, lowers the risk of a transatlantic trade war with ramifications that would deepen the already fragile state of both economies.
Trump began talks with von der Leyen earlier Sunday as Friday’s deadline had loomed to reach an agreement to avoid 30% tariffs on European imports. Trump had said the United States could not go lower than a 15% across-the-board tariff rate for the European Union.
Von der Leyen acknowledged negotiations with Trump were tough: “I knew it at the beginning, and it was indeed very tough. But we came to a good conclusion for both sides.”
She said the deal “will bring stability. It will bring predictability. That’s very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Trump said Sunday before his talks with von der Leyen that pharmaceuticals wouldn’t be part of the deal. Trump had repeatedly suggested he would put a 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals that are manufactured outside the United States — the vast majority of US drugs — starting August 1.
Pharmaceuticals were the No. 1 ($92.1 billion) good the United States imported from the European Union last year, according to US Commerce Department data. Ireland, a member of the EU, is the top single foreign country supplying the United States with pharmaceuticals.
“Pharmaceuticals are very special. We can’t be in a position where we’re relying on other countries,” Trump said.
The framework comes after Trump announced duties on most EU goods would be increased from the 10% universal baseline to a 30% levy on August 1, citing that the United States and European Union have one of the “largest trade deficits” and failed to reach a deal by Trump’s previous July 9 deadline.
In April, EU goods briefly faced a 20% “reciprocal” tariff before Trump paused those levies.
On May 24, Trump, citing a lack of progress in trade talks, said he was prepared to slap a 50% tariff on EU goods on June 1. “I’m not looking for a deal,” he said at the time.
Deal or no deal deadline looming
Trump reaffirmed the Friday deadline for other trading partners and said steel and aluminum tariffs will remain at their current rates of 50%.
Sitting alongside Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said tariffs on semiconductors will be announced in two weeks. It’s unclear when those could take effect.
Lutnick had said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that there would be no further extensions or grace periods after August 1. But he raised the prospect of potentially some wiggle room, saying “big economies” can continue trade talks with the United States.
“August 1, the tariffs are set. They’ll go into place,” Lutnick said.
Some of the tariffs that Trump has threatened go as high as 50%. South Korea, a major supplier of electronics and other goods, faces the threat of 30% tariffs, while Brazil could face tariffs of 50%.
Meanwhile, the United States and China are nearing an August 12 deadline to reach a trade deal. The United States has been charging Chinese goods a minimum 30% tariff, down from 145%, while China has been taxing American goods at a minimum of 10%, down from 125%.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to meet with Chinese negotiators this week in Stockholm for another round of trade talks.
Since Trump paused other “reciprocal” tariffs in April to provide more time to work on securing trade deals, only seven trade agreements have been announced, including Sunday’s.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Elisabeth Buchwald and Jonny Hallam contributed to this report.
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