Trump secures ‘big win’ in EU trade deal after Brussels retreats
President Donald Trump has achieved a “big win” after inking a trade agreement with the European Union following a months-long standoff between two of the world’s largest economic titans.
The US President met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland to continue trade discussions as part of his four-day private visit to the country.
The fresh agreement will see US tariffs imposed on the EU cut from 30 to 15 per cent across a host of products. It will also maintain the US’ 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium, according to the President, but von der Leyen has said steel levies could be replaced with a quota system upon further negotiation.
The EU leader hailed the “good deal” as bringing “stability” and “predictability”, but the stubborn tariff rate of 15 per cent flies in the face of Brussels’ original goal of achieving a zero-for-zero tariffs deal.
Trump said the EU deal would boost its investment in the US by nearly $600bn as well as $750bn of spending on energy.
EU retreats as Trump seals deal
But there remains a level of unease around the deal. On Sunday, a senior White House official told reporters in Washington that the President retained the right to hike the levies in the future if European countries failed to live up to investment commitments.
Analysts have pegged the deal as a Trump win. Lale Akoner, global market analyst at eToro said: “In our view, the new US-EU trade agreement is a political and economic win for Washington, and a pragmatic retreat by Brussels.
“While the 15 per cent tariff on most EU exports is lower than the threatened 30 per cent, it’s still a sharp jump from pre-2025 levels when many goods faced tariffs under 3 per cent, and is likely to add to inflationary pressures in the months ahead.”
Prashant Newnaha, senior Asia-Pacific rates strategist at TD securities, said the deal was a “big win” for Trump, with the “forced purchases of US energy and military equipment and zero tariff retaliation by Europe”.
“That’s not negotiation, that’s art of the deal,” Newhaha said.
Global markets were sent into a tailspin in April after Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ resulted in sweeping levies on trading partners.
The EU, which Trump branded as one of the “worst offenders” in trade, was slapped with a 50 per cent tariff.
But Trump quickly rowed back on the policy, delaying the levies until June 1 in a bid to spark trade deals. Discussions with the EU were extended til July 9, then later til August 1.