WASHINGTON: Donald Trump said on Friday there was a 50 per cent chance of a trade deal with the European Union as the bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen announced a weekend meeting in Scotland with the US president.

In an attempt to slash his country’s trade deficits, Trump has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariff hikes if they do not hammer out a pact with Washington by Aug 1.

“I would say that we have a 50/50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50/50 chance of making a deal with the EU,” Trump told reporters before leaving the White House for a trip to Scotland.

His administration promised “90 deals in 90 days” as it delayed the imposition of higher duties in April, but has so far unveiled just five agreements, including with Britain, Japan and the Philippines.

The EU’s 27 countries have been allowing the European Commission to focus on seeking a deal to avoid hefty US tariffs, with Trump threatening 30pc levies without an accord by month’s end.

Brussels and Washington appear to be inching towards a deal with a baseline 15pc US tariff on EU goods, and potential carve-outs for critical sectors.

But EU member states on Thursday backed a package of retaliation on $109 billion of US goods _ to kick in from Aug 7 if talks fall short.

Von der Leyen said she would meet Trump in Scotland this weekend to address the tariffs standoff.

“Following a good call with @POTUS (president of the US), we have agreed to meet in Scotland on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong,” she wrote on X.

Trump claimed that most of the deals he was seeking had been completed.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2025