The EU has reached agreement on the implementation of the trade deal struck between Donald Trump and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland last year.
The final text on the implementation, agreed after talks between the European Parliament and member states on Tuesday, will be subject to formal adoption by the parliament, expected in mid-June.
That will mean it should be in place by the 4 July deadline set by Trump. The US president had threatened “much higher” tariffs if approval was not in place by then.
Under the terms of the deal, EU exports to the US will face a 15% tariff while US industrial goods exports to the EU will be at zero tariff. There are some carve-outs for EU exports and protections for the agricultural sector remain in place.
Importantly for EU exporters, the 15% tariff rate is an “all inclusive” rate, so it will include previous long-standing tariffs under most-favoured nation trade agreements. For many products, such as butter, this will effectively mean very little change in the tariff rate applied.
The EU agreed to improve market access for certain non-sensitive US agricultural exports such as soy bean oil, and some processed foodstuffs.
The agreement includes a sunset clause for May 2029, at which point it could be renewed or abandoned by the EU. That date is later than some MEPs wanted, but it does coincide with the start of the next presidential administration in the US.



SHARING OPTIONS