The United States and the European Union reach a trade agreement

BarcelonaWith the deadline looming, US President Donald Trump met this Sunday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to see if it was possible to break the deadlock on a trade deal that would avoid a trade war. After much back and forth, both economies agreed on a general 15% tariff on European exports, in line with the agreement the United States reached with Japan.

"It will be the biggest deal of all. We are very honored to have done it," Trump began, sitting next to Von der Leyen. "We have achieved it and that is good, very good," the German leader added. The agreement took place in Turnberry, a small town on the Scottish coast where the US president owns a huge golf resort. "We wanted to rebalance the trade relationship, and we wanted to do it in a way that allowed trade to continue between us because the two largest economies need a good flow of trade. I think we've hit the nail on the head. Rebalance, but allow trade on both sides, which means good jobs and wealth on both sides." European.

In just over an hour, the 50% chance of reaching an agreement that the two leaders had declared before the meeting was resolved. Trump called for "fairness" for American products and to facilitate the arrival of American products, such as cars. In this regard, the Republican president boasted about vehicles manufactured in the US and assured that European consumers would now have a more diversified offering with their arrival: "It will make them happy." With the agreement, tariffs on European cars, an issue that particularly affected Germany, are reduced from the current 27.5% to 15%, as are those on semiconductors. "It's the best we could have achieved," von der Leyen stated.

The wine and spirits sector was left out of the agreement, von der Leyen explained, adding that pharmaceutical products will face a 15% tariff, although Trump had previously said they had not been included because they had to be manufactured in the United States. However, Brussels has been unable to reach an agreement to reduce tariffs on products such as steel and aluminum, which remain as they were, with general tariffs of 50%. In this regard, the US president has encouraged all companies that want to avoid the cost of tariffs to build plants on US soil.

Aside from accepting a general 15% tariff, the few details that are emerging from the agreement are that the EU must invest $600 billion (€510 billion) in the US and allocate $750 billion (€638 billion) for US military equipment. For Von der Leyen, purchasing US energy, such as its cheaper liquefied natural gas, will reduce energy dependence on Russia, a key issue since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

With Sunday's agreement, the White House's last threat in Brussels has been toned down, when it warned it would impose a general 30% tariff if an agreement was not reached by Friday, August 1. In response, the EU had prepared a list of tariffs against US products worth €93 billion. All this without forgetting that, since last April, Washington has applied a general 10% tariff to all European imports, a rate that was added to the 4.8% that the US administration previously applied. Therefore, in practice, the agreed US tax only increases by two-tenths of a percentage point.

The EU becomes the sixth country with which the US has managed to reach an agreement, following those with Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom. The latter has achieved the lowest rate, with a universal 10% tariff, also for cars, and none. Regarding his great rival, China, Trump assured that they are close to reaching an agreement as well.

Attack on wind energy

Since landing in Scotland, Trump has focused on another battlefront: wind power. "I say this to Europe: enough windmills. It's ruining your countries. It's very sad. You fly over and see these windmills everywhere. Ruining your beautiful fields and valleys, killing your birds, ruining your oceans," he said. This Sunday, he repeated the same line, adding that wind power "is expensive, it's not good, and it's made in China." Before meeting with Von der Leyen, the Republican played golf on his Turnberry courses, as he shared on his social network, Truth Social. "I play on the best course in the world, but I see nine windmills. Shame on me!" he proclaimed.