• US sets 15pc tariff on European goods
• Bloc agrees to purchase $750bn worth of American energy
• China, US likely to extend tariff pause by 90 days

TURNBERRY: US President Donald Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sunday they had reached a deal to end a transatlantic tariffs standoff and avert a full-blown trade war.

The agreement came as the clock ticked down on an August 1 deadline for the European Union to strike a deal with Washington — or face an across-the-board US levy of 30 per cent.

“We have reached a deal. It’s a good deal for everybody,” Trump told reporters following a high-stakes meeting with von der Leyen at his golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland.

Trump told reporters the deal involved a baseline levy of 15pc on EU exports to the US, including for the bloc’s crucial auto sector, which is currently being taxed at 25pc. “We are agreeing that the tariff straight across, for automobiles and everything else, will be a straight across tariff of 15pc,” Trump said.

He also said the bloc had agreed to purchase “$750 billion worth of energy” from the US , as well as $600bn more in additional investments in the country.

Von der Leyen’s European Commission had been pushing hard to salvage a trading relationship worth an annual $1.9 trillion in goods and services. The European Union and the United States have agreed a bilateral tariff exemption for key goods including aircraft, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said after the two sides clinched a trade deal. “We have also agreed on zero-for-zero tariffs on a number of strategic products,” von der Leyen said. She said the products included certain chemicals, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products and critical raw materials.

No carve-outs

The EU is currently subject to a 25pc levy on cars, 50pc on steel and aluminium, and an across-the-board tariff of 10pc. Brussels has been focused on getting a deal to avoid sweeping tariffs that would further harm its sluggish economy — with retaliation held out as a last resort.

But the deal as outlined by Trump appeared to fall short of EU expectations.

The bloc had been pushing hard for tariff carve-outs for critical industries from aircraft to spirits, and its auto industry, crucial for France and Germany, is already reeling from the levies imposed so far.

Any deal will also need to be approved by EU member states whose ambassadors, on a visit to Greenland, were updated by the commission Sunday morning. They were set to meet again after the deal struck in Scotland.

The EU had also hoped for a compromise on steel, but Trump ruled that out, saying steel was “staying the way it is”.

Had the talks failed, EU states had greenlit counter tariffs on $109bn of US goods including aircraft and cars to take effect in stages from August 7.

Beyond that, countries including France say Brussels should not be afraid to deploy a so-called trade “bazooka” — EU legislation designed to counter coercion that can involve restricting access to its market and public contracts.

China, US may extend tariff pause

While US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had said on Sunday the August 1 deadline was firm and there will be “no extensions, no more grace periods”, the South China Morning Post citing people familiar with the matter reported that Beijing and Washington are expected to extend their tariff truce by another three months at trade talks in Stockholm.

The third round of US-China talks is set to be held in Stockholm on Monday to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of the countries’ trade war.

During the expected extension, the US and China will agree not to introduce new tariffs or take other actions that could escalate the trade war, the report said.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2025