US, EU agree trade deal cutting EU tariffs to zero and keeping US duties at 15 pc
KATHMANDU: The White House trade adviser, Peter Navarro, unveiled details of the EU–US trade deal on Thursday, marking a major milestone in Washington’s effort to secure ‘fair trade’ with its partners, ANI reported.
Navarro said the EU has agreed to reduce all its tariffs to zero, while the US continues its global tariff at 15%.
He said, ‘We get Europe reducing all its tariffs to zero. We continue our global tariff to fight the trade deficit at 15%. Secondly, we will impose 15% tariffs on cars. It’s a drop from 25%, but remember, before President Trump took office, the tariff was 2.5% compared with 10% in Europe. So that’s a great win.’
He added, ‘We maintain our tariffs on steel and aluminium without exemptions or exclusions, and we’re securing $750 billion of LNG purchases. We’re receiving $600 billion in investment in the US, specifically in strategic sectors that help secure and make our supply chains more resilient. And we’re getting Europe to provide more of our arms in co-operation with the uplifted NATO effort.’
Navarro lauded President Trump’s trade policy as a ‘magnificent’ achievement, saying: ‘We’re ushering in a completely new and beautiful spirit and environment of co-operation with Europe. And nobody would have imagined the success of this. Anyone who criticises Trump’s trade policy, including the courts, simply has to look at this magnificent achievement that President Trump has secured, not just for the American people, but for Europe and the security of the world.’
Earlier, the administration said the EU has agreed to remove all tariffs on US industrial goods and expand preferential access for American seafood and agricultural exports. In return, most EU products —including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and timber—will face a 15% tariff. The 27-nation bloc also committed to channel $600 billion in corporate investment into the US and to purchase at least $750 billion of American energy over the next three years.
A White House statement said the framework agreement ‘will put our trade and investment relationship—one of the largest in the world—on a solid footing and will reinvigorate our economies’ reindustrialisation. It reflects acknowledgement by the European Union of the concerns of the United States and our joint determination to resolve our trade imbalances and unleash the full potential of our combined economic power.’
