Europeans are not satisfied with Trump’s terms saying EU-US tariff agreement has not yet been completed

It was all about handshakes and smiles when European Commission Director Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. President Donald Trump announced that after months of a quarrel, an EU-US trade agreement had been reached to beat Trump to a deal with the August 1 deadline.

Many in Europe breathe the breath of European negotiators avoiding the 30% tariff Trump threatened several months ago. Other countries are still fighting to reach a deal with the United States to avoid tax collection.

However, as news about EU transactions were announced last weekend, not only criticizing the criticism, but it is clear that many details have not been avoided, there are some differences between the two sides and some EU countries will be disproportionately affected.

Few European leaders are pleased to announce a 15% tariff on most U.S. exports – an increase in the 30% tariff initially threatened by Trump, but that tariff rate remains significantly higher than the previous average rate of 4.8%.

However, despite regrets that the EU has not taken a stricter negotiating stance, many agree that the deal brings great certainty and predictability to European businesses at least after many weak months.

“I hope to achieve different results,” said German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil. “Nevertheless, it’s nice to reach an agreement with the United States without further escalation.”

As of Thursday, no joint statement has been issued, although the committee stressed that it is not a legally binding document, but a “set of political commitments.”

“From there, we will seek exemptions from additional negotiations to reach an agreement with the United States,” said Olof Gill, a commission’s trade spokesman.

this General profile of the committee In transactions, this is not legally binding.

this White House Fact Sheet The warnings were not raised under the agreement and said it had achieved “historic structural reforms”, but U.S. Commercial Director Howard Lutnick admitted Wednesday that talks would continue, with EU and U.S. officials still discussing certain aspects of the framework.

“This is not the end of the story, we won’t stay there,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. “This is the first step in the negotiation process that will continue.”

Cinzia Alcidi of the Brussels European Policy Research Centre said trade agreements usually require 18 to 24 months of bilateral negotiations. “To determine the industry and the private sector, a 15% blanket tariff will apply – but then efforts will be made to make some goods different,” she said.

According to the White House Drugs and semiconductors Will fall under a 15% tariff, without mentioning that the figure is the upper limit.

But the EU said the two sectors will maintain their current 0% rate until a deal is reached for new tariff rates around the world. According to the EU, any future tariffs will be limited to 15%.

tariff Steel and aluminumAccording to the United States, it will remain 50%. The EU said Brussels and Washington will work to cut that number and will be replaced by a quota system after August 1.

Some of the most obvious differences can be found in the languages used by both parties EU investment commitments.

The U.S. statement said the EU would buy $75 billion (£56.8 billion) of U.S. oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and nuclear energy products, and the EU said it was just “intended” to do so when it left Russian gas and oil itself.

Not only is it unclear whether the U.S. can provide such payments to the EU, but the EU cannot decide on behalf of the private sector to purchase.

Similarly, the United States said the EU would invest $600 billion before Trump’s second term ended – but the EU only said “the company has expressed interest in the money” by 2029. Since Brussels cannot force private companies to invest in the United States, there is no technically guaranteed that the amount can or will be reached or will be reached.

According to the United States, the EU has agreed to buy a large number of US military equipment. This is not mentioned in the EU statement.

Nearly 80% of EU defense investment has been handed over to the United States, and further expansion may be impossible. Furthermore, such commitments would be inconsistent with von der Leyen’s recent REATM Europe program, which calls for investment in the European defense industry.

The U.S. will also impose a 15% tariff on wine and spirits, the committee said Thursday, adding that it will continue to try to implement vans.

Macron said on Wednesday that the advantage of the deal is to provide “short-term predictability” – but also requires Europe to be more determined by the United States.

“For freedom, you have to be feared. We are not scared enough,” he said.

Given the amount of details that still need to hammer, the next phase of negotiations will last for some time – European negotiators may feel persistent under greater pressure after the rebound the committee received this week.

Although the 15% tariff will reach all European countries, they will affect them in different ways.

Germany, Ireland and Italy are particularly exposed due to the nature of their partnership with the United States. For German automakers, the United States accounts for 13% of its exports, worth 3.4 billion euros (£2.9 billion). Hildegard Müller, president of the German Automobile Industry Association, said the new tariffs would be an expensive burden.

Among EU countries, Ireland relies most on the United States as its export market. In particular, IT produces and exports medicines worth $50 billion per year – so Dublin welcomes the EU-US agreement by gritting his teeth. “That’s what it is, we keep moving forward,” said Neil Richmond, Secretary of State for the Irish Foreign Ministry.

Italy’s agricultural, pharmaceutical and automobile sectors will also be damaged, according to the Italian Institute of International Political Science, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) could be subject to 0.2% of taxes of 15%.

Cristiano Fini of the Italian Farmers Federation said the deal with the United States was more like a “surrender” than a deal. Now, several Italian trade associations have spoken out to the EU to make up for the forecast losses.

But that’s exactly what the EU needs to boycott, Cinzia Alcidi said.

She believes that the package of compensation for EU exporters will ultimately cost taxpayers, “which will constitute a huge victory for Trump because it means that in the end, Europeans will eventually pay the price of their tariffs.”