Trump Announces Trade Deal with EU

“It’s a very powerful deal, it’s a very big deal, it’s the biggest of all the deals,” Trump said Sunday alongside von der Leyen.

“It’s a good deal, it’s a huge deal, with tough negotiations,” von der Leyen said after the meeting.

European leaders react

European leaders were quick to applaud the agreement amid relief that the bloc had seemingly avoided a trade war, but some voiced caution about the terms of the deal.

Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheál Martin said the agreement “brings clarity and predictability to the trading relationship between the EU and the US,” according to a statement.

“It does mean that there will now be higher tariffs than there have been and this will have an impact on trade between the EU and the US, making it more expensive and more challenging,” Ireland’s Department of the Taoiseach said.

Still, the agreement “creates a new era of stability,” the statement continued.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the new accord, citing the benefits it would bring to the country’s auto industry.

“With the agreement in the EU-US negotiations on tariffs a trade conflict, which would have hit the export-oriented German economy hard, has been avoided,” he said in a statement.

“This is especially true for the auto industry, for which the current tariffs of 27.5% were almost halved to 15%. Especially here the quick tariff reduction is of great significance,” he added.

Netherlands Prime Minister Dick Schoof said, in a post on X Sunday, that “no tariffs would have been better,” but praised the European Commission for securing the best agreement possible.

He said the deal underway “provides more clarity for our businesses and brings more market stability.”

Italy’s government leaders, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, issued a statement saying the deal helps avoid a “direct clash between the two sides of the Atlantic,” and “guarantees stability” between the U.S. and European Union.

The statement also said Italy considered tariffs at 15% to be “sustainable,” if that percentage includes, and is not in addition to, previous tariffs.