The US and European Union reached a preliminary trade deal, President Donald Trump announced Sunday, averting a punishing tariff war.
The US will tax European goods, including automobiles, at a rate of 15%, while US exports to the bloc won’t face any duties, Trump said.
The pact marks the most consequential trade agreement Trump has struck since returning to office.
It comes after he met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland ahead of Washington’s Aug. 1 deadline for a deal, and a day before US-China trade talks in Stockholm.
The agreement signals to other US trading partners that 15% is the new baseline duty — which is not a level “where the global economy burns down,” one analyst noted.
