(The Hill) — President Donald Trump and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced a trade deal on Sunday, setting tariffs at 15 percent for European goods, including automobiles.
The European Union will purchase $750 billion worth of energy from the U.S. as part of the deal, Trump announced, and agreed to invest in the U.S. $600 billion more than the current investments for other goods.
The agreement is lower than the 30 percent tariff Trump had threatened to impose on the EU, which would have begun on Aug. 1, and avoids a trade war with the U.S.’s largest trading partner.
Trump and von der Leyen both touted the enormity of the deal they had agreed to during a meeting at the president’s golf course in Turnberry, Scotland.
“I think it’s the biggest deal ever made,” Trump said.
“We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world. It’s a big deal, it’s a huge deal, it will bring stability, it will be predictability,” von der Leyen said. “It’s a good deal, it’s a tough deal.”
When asked about concessions the U.S. made to reach the deal, von der Leyen acknowledged that there was an unbalanced trade relationship previously between the EU and the U.S., resulting in a deficit for the U.S.
“We wanted to rebalance the trade relation and we wanted to do it in a way that trade goes on between the two of us across the Atlantic,” she said.
Trump went into the meeting with von der Leyen saying he thought there was a 50-50 chance the two leaders could strike a deal on Sunday.
“You’re known as a tough dealmaker and negotiator,” von der Leyen said before the meeting.
“And fair,” Trump responded.
“This is really the biggest trading partnership in the world so we should give it a shot,” Trump said.
Trump similarly reached a deal with Japan on trade earlier this week, which would set a 15 percent tariff on Japanese goods. That is lower than the 25 percent tariff Trump had threatened to impose on Japan beginning Aug. 1.
Also in that deal, Trump said that Japan would invest $550 billion in projects in the U.S. and would open its markets to U.S. automobiles, rice and other agricultural products.
The president on Sunday doubled down on tariffs starting on Aug. 1, telling reporters, “The August 1 is there for everyone. The deals all start on August 1.”
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