Trump and von der Leyen agree EU-US deal on US President’s Scotland visit
By Nina Lloyd, PA
Donald Trump said the US and EU had agreed the “biggest deal ever made” after a high-stakes meeting with Ursula von der Leyen on the second full day of his private visit to Scotland.
The EU is set to face 15 per cent tariffs on most of its goods including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals entering America rather than a 30 per cent levy previously threatened by the US President.
President of the EU Commission Ms von der Leyen said the agreement would provide “certainty in uncertain times” for citizens and businesses, while Mr Trump hailed what he described as the “biggest deal ever made”.
The agreement will include “zero for zero” tariffs on a number of products including aircraft, some agricultural goods and certain chemicals, as well as EU purchases of US energy worth 750 billion dollars (€638 billion) over three years.
The two leaders met at the US President’s Turnberry golf resort in Ayrshire on Sunday to hammer out the broad terms of the agreement, the detail of which is due to be fleshed out in the coming weeks.
Before their bilateral talks, which lasted around an hour, Mr Trump had said there was a “50-50” chance of the deal being reached as a number of the sticking points remained.
Following the meeting, he said: “I think it’s great that we made a deal today instead of playing games and maybe not making a deal at all … I think it’s the biggest deal ever made.”
Ms von der Leyen said: “Today’s deal creates certainty in uncertain times, it delivers stability and predictability for citizens on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Speaking to journalists afterwards, she acknowledged there was “tension” at the beginning of her meeting with the US President but said “in the end, as we were successful, it’s good and it’s satisfactory.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin welcomed the “clarity” the agreement brought to the transatlantic trade relationship and said the implications for exports from Ireland would be studied in the coming days.
“That is good for businesses, investors and consumers. It will help protect many jobs in Ireland,” he said.
“The negotiations to get us to this point have been long and complex, and I would like to thank both teams for their patient work.
“We will now study the detail of what has been agreed, including its implications for businesses exporting from Ireland to the US, and for different sectors operating here.”
The agreement reached on Sunday evening looks to have averted the prospect of transatlantic trade war amid concerns that US tariff rates could damage the world economy.
However, uncertainty remains over American levies on steel, which Mr Trump has suggested remains subject to a global rate of 50 per cent.
Ms von der Leyen said the steel sector would go back to “historical quotas” like in the UK-US deal, with “ring-fencing” to deal with global overcapacity.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet the US President for bilateral talks at Turnberry on Monday, with Britain’s trade agreement with Washington expected to be a key focus.
The pact signed at the G7 summit last month left tariffs on UK steel at 25 per cent rather than falling to zero as originally agreed.