Donald Trump announces trade tariffs deal in meeting with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen
Donald Trump and EU President Ursula von der Leyen have agreed on the terms of a deal to avoid a spiralling trade war.
US President Donald Trump has finally struck a deal with the European Union that will see a 15 per cent tariff applied on all EU goods.
On Sunday afternoon (Monday AEST) US President Donald Trump met with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at his world-class golf course Trump Turnberry in Scotland and after more than an hour of discussions the pair reached an agreement.
Mr Trump said the deal was extremely significant and described it as “the biggest in the world”.
Previously Mr Trump had threatened to impose a 30 per cent tariff on EU imports and following the agreement it was confirmed the EU will make $US600bn worth of investments into the US and will also buy US energy and military equipment.
Mr Trump played a round of golf on Sunday before holding talks with Ms von der Leyen and he said British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – despite not being involved in Sunday’s meeting – will be “very happy to see what we did”.
On Sunday he also spoke of his frustrations over trying to strike a deal with the EU.
“You know, we’ve had a hard time with trade with Europe, very hard time, and I’d like to see it resolved,” Mr Trump said.
“But if it isn’t we’ll, you know, have tariffs”.
Before the deal was reached Ms von der Leyen said: “If we are successful – I think it would be the biggest deal each of us has ever struck.”.
Mr Trump had threatened 30 per cent tariffs on the EU and a deadline to introduce tariffs was changed from July 9 to August 1.
While the EU and US are working towards a de-escalation of trade tensions, the EU’s retaliatory tariffs are not definitively off the table until a final, comprehensive trade deal is formally signed and implemented.
It also needs to specifically address the lifting of all existing and threatened tariffs by both sides.
Prior to the meeting, the EU prepared a list of retaliatory tariffs which included Boeing aircraft, bourbon, beef, beer, and car parts - worth around $166bn. Before the deal, the highest existing tariffs included 50 per cent of US steel and aluminium into the EU.
On Monday he is due to meet with the British Prime Minister at Turnberry where they are also expected to discuss trade and the situation in Gaza including the crisis with humanitarian aid.
The US president will also meet with Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney during the day before travelling to Aberdeen in northeast Scotland in the afternoon by plane.
During Sunday’s discussion Mr Trump also attacked renewable energy plans and said wind farms were damaging the landscape – they previously had been planned for near Turnberry however to date there are none in the area.
“You get these beautiful areas of the United States and you look up and you see windmills all over the place,” Mr Trump said.
“It’s a horrible thing, it’s the most expensive form of energy.
“It’s no good. They’re made in China, almost all of them”.
“The whole thing is a con job.
“It’s very expensive”.
During the weekend discussions Mr Trump was also asked by a reporter, “Do you think Israel should be doing more to allow food into Gaza”.
Mr Trump said Israel is “going to have to make a decision” on what action it will take in Gaza after announcing a military pause in the war-torn area.
He said the US had given US$60m ($A91m) two weeks ago for food to be supplied in Gaza but he failed to receive a thank you.
“Nobody acknowledges it, nobody talks about it and it makes you feel a little bad when you do that and you’ve got other countries not doing anything,” Mr Trump said.
“I took a lot of heat, you know when I do that a lot of people aren’t happy about that because they say, ‘why are you doing it and nobody else’ but I think we had a humanitarian reason for doing it”.
Mr Trump also explained about the situation in Gaza: “I know what I’d do but I don’t think it’s appropriate to say”.
He said during recent discussions with terrorist group Hamas they had resisted giving back the Israeli hostages who remain captive in Gaza – it is understood that there are 20 living hostages still captive.
He said Hamas had “hardened up, they don’t want to give them (the hostages) back”.
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Originally published as Donald Trump announces trade tariffs deal in meeting with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen
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