Europe Asia News

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, following a 40-minute meeting with Trump at the Turnberry golf resort in Scotland where the US president was spending the weekend: “We have reached a deal.”

She described it as a “big deal, a very big deal” that would bring “stability” and “predictability” to both sides. “The two biggest economies must have good trade flows,” she added.

Trump called the agreement, which includes the EU agreeing to spend tens of billions more on US energy products, a “strong deal” and an “important” partnership, saying: “It solves many problems and was a great decision.”

Before the private meeting began, he said: “This is really the biggest trade partnership in the world, so we should give it a chance.”

The US president kept the visiting EU delegation on edge until the very end, repeating less than an hour before the meeting that the chance of a deal was only “fifty-fifty” and that “three or four points of disagreement” remained.

Von der Leyen described the meeting as “challenging” and “very tough”. Speaking to reporters later at Glasgow Airport, she said about her initial appearance with Trump: “You saw the tension at the beginning. That’s why we had to work hard to come to a common stance.”

According to the deal, the US will impose a 15% base tariff on most EU exports, limiting the scope for higher tariffs. However, this rate is still higher than before Trump came to power, and a 50% tariff will continue to apply to steel exports – a disadvantage for the industry.

There was initial confusion about the pharmaceutical sector after Trump stated it would be excluded.

Shortly after, von der Leyen told reporters at Prestwick Airport in Glasgow that the sector was included, but no guarantees were made regarding future tariff increases.

Under the terms of the agreement, Brussels will purchase $750 billion worth of semiconductors – including oil, gas, nuclear fuel, and liquefied gas – over three years, and also commit to investing $600 billion (₤446 billion) in the US. The agreement also covers military equipment purchases.

However, a senior US official told reporters on Sunday evening that if European countries fail to fulfill investment commitments, Trump will have the authority to raise tariffs in the future.

The agreement stabilizes €1.4 trillion in trade between the EU and the US and averts the 30% tariff Trump had threatened to impose on August 1 if talks collapsed.

Speaking on his flight back to Brussels, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said Trump was “a very tough negotiator” and “the atmosphere was very intense.”