Donald Trump has announced a new trade deal with the European Union following a brief summit with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf resort in Scotland.
The agreement includes a 15% tariff on all EU goods entering the US, half the 30% rate originally proposed by Trump as part of his “Liberation Day” tariffs announced in April. However, the 50% tariff on steel and aluminium imports will remain in place.
Describing the agreement as “the biggest in the world,” Trump said, “It’s great that we made a deal instead of playing games.”
In return, the EU will impose a reciprocal 15% tariff on a wide range of US exports. Von der Leyen called the deal a success, stating: “We hit exactly the point we wanted: rebalance, but enable trade on both sides. That means good jobs and prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The deal brings clarity after months of market volatility triggered by Trump’s threat of sweeping global tariffs, which were originally paused until August 1. In the event of no deal, the EU had prepared countermeasures targeting €93bn ($109bn) worth of US goods.
Financial markets responded positively. Michael Brown, senior research strategist at UK brokerage Pepperstone, called the outcome “good news,” saying, “This is more about removing the risk of a no-deal scenario than the exact tariff rate. Markets are likely to respond with a stronger euro and rising equity futures.”
Trump, currently on a five-day visit to Scotland that includes a scheduled meeting with UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, also addressed broader international issues on Sunday.
On tensions in the Middle East, he commented on Iran’s recent conflict with Israel: “Iran has been very nasty with their words. They got the hell knocked out of them and I don’t think they know it.”
When asked about US humanitarian assistance to Gaza, Trump noted: “We gave $60 million two weeks ago for food and nobody even acknowledged it. No other country gave anything.”
