Trump sets 15% tariff on EU: Here are the key aspects of the trade deal

US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced that a trade deal was complete with the European Union (EU) following his meeting with the Union's President Ursula von der Leyen.

“We have reached a deal. It’s a good deal for everybody,” Trump said, calling the outcome as a significant win for both sides. Von der Leyen agreed and said it was “a good deal” for Europe as well.

EU and the US are each other's largest trade partners and account for 1/3 of all global trade. The deal comes just days before the August 1 tariff deadline, which had loomed large over transatlantic trade.


Here are a few key aspects of the deal between the US and the EU, as pointed out by Trump.

• The U.S. will now impose a 15% import tariff on most EU goods—this is half of the 30% rate it had earlier threatened.
• The European Union plans to invest $600 billion in the United States under the deal.
• The EU will also buy $750 billion worth of U.S. energy over the next few years.
• In addition, the EU is expected to purchase “hundreds of billions of dollars” in U.S. military equipment.
• Just a week ago, the U.S. signed a $550 billion trade deal with Japan, making this EU deal even bigger in scale.
• In 2024, the U.S. had a $235 billion trade deficit with the EU in goods.
• Despite the new deal, the U.S. will continue to charge a 50% tariff on EU steel and aluminum.
• There will be zero tariffs on aircraft, certain chemicals, some generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, agricultural products, and critical raw materials.
• After the deal was announced, the euro rose by 0.2% against the dollar, pound, and yen.
• The EU economy is valued at $20 trillion, which is five times larger than Japan’s.
• If the deal had failed, the EU was prepared to impose €93 billion ($109 billion) in countertariffs on U.S. goods.
• German carmakers were previously hit with a 27.5% U.S. tariff, which now gets replaced by the new 15% rate.
• President Trump had aimed for “90 trade deals in 90 days”, though that goal remains unmet.

On July 12, Trump threatened a 30% tariff on imports from the EU starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal.

The EU had prepared counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of U.S. goods in the event there was no deal and Trump had pressed ahead with 30% tariffs.