Enda Curran, Bloomberg Global Economy Reporter, discusses efforts made by the EU and US to rebalance trade ties and potentially reduce tariffs on some European goods.
The US and European Union took the next steps to formalize their trade pact, detailing plans that could reduce tariffs on European automobiles within weeks while opening the door to new potential discounts for steel and aluminum.
The joint statement issued Thursday advances the preliminary deal announced a month ago, by including specific benchmarks for the EU to secure its promised sectoral tariff discounts on cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, as well as new commitments to cooperate on economic security matters, food standards and digital trade.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly praised the sweeping US-EU trade framework, extolling it as “a big deal” in a Monday White House meeting with foreign leaders including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The deal provides predictability and “delivers for our citizens & companies, and strengthens transatlantic relations,” von der Leyen said in a post on the social-media platform X.
The development underscores the nature of trade talks under Trump, with some initial, broad pronouncements of deals giving way to weeks — or more — of work to hammer out detailed agreements. Many of them are also tied to sweeping policy changes that could take time to materialize.
For example, Trump already imposed a flat 15% rate on most European goods — half the 30% he’d previously threatened. But the US promise to extend that lower levy to autos and auto parts now hinges on the EU formally introducing a legislative proposal to eliminate a host of its own tariffs on US industrial goods and provide “preferential market access” for some US seafood and agricultural products.
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