European politicians and industries were happy to avoid a trade war with the U.S. but weren’t thrilled with the terms of the truce, saying the bloc capitulated to President Trump and that the remaining tariffs would hold them back.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou was among the most scathing on Monday, after France had urged the European Union to take a hard line and protect its interests.
“It’s a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, united to assert their values and defend their interests, resigns itself to submission,” he wrote on X.
The Federation of German Industries said the trade deal was an “inadequate compromise” that sent a “disastrous signal,” and Bernd Lange, a German member of the European Parliament, said the agreement is “lopsided” in favor of the U.S.
President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the accord in Scotland on Sunday after intense negotiations to avert Mr. Trump’s threat to slap a 30% tariff on EU goods.
The deal will open up European markets to U.S. goods and place a 15% tariff on EU products sold in the United States.
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Under the EU deal, Mr. Trump said, tariffs on many U.S. goods would be cut from less than 3% to zero.
The Trump administration did a victory lap on Monday.
The White House extolled favorable tariff rates and European investments in the U.S. economy, while U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Mr. Trump “delivered what American presidents have tried and failed to accomplish.”
“This framework demonstrates that America can maintain tariffs to reduce the goods trade deficit and simultaneously unlock market access for hardworking Americans whose interests remain firmly at the center of every deal made,” Mr. Greer said.
The deal with the European Union is among a slew of new trade agreements announced by Mr. Trump recently as he seeks to rebalance global trade terms that he said have economically damaged the U.S. for decades.
The U.S. goods trade deficit with the European Union was $235.6 billion in 2024, a 12.9% increase over 2023, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
The new framework requires the EU to buy $750 billion in U.S. energy and make new investments of $600 billion in the U.S. by 2028.
“Donald Trump did not reach an agreement with Ursula von der Leyen, but rather Donald Trump ate Ursula von der Leyen for breakfast,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a longtime Trump ally, said in a Facebook livestream.
Some EU leaders were measured in their appraisal of the deal.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said a 15% tariff would be “sustainable” and the deal “ensures stability,” though she would like to see more details.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he was thankful for what EU negotiators were able to get.
“Of course, no tariffs would have been better,” he said on X, “but this agreement provides more clarity for our businesses and brings more market stability.”
Some industries wanted more clarity. Lobbies representing wine and spirit makers in the U.S. and Europe urged leaders to strike a zero-tariff agreement on their products.
Tariffs are a major factor for the European wine and spirits industries, which are tethered to soil and other characteristics of a region and cannot be replicated in the U.S., as Mr. Trump urges drugmakers and auto companies to move their operations to America to avoid tariffs.
“We are optimistic that in the days ahead this positive meeting and agreement will lead to a return to zero-for-zero tariffs for U.S. and EU spirits products, which will benefit not only our nation’s distillers, but also the American workers and farmers who support them from grain to glass,” said Distilled Spirits Council President and CEO Chris Swonger.
A White House official said the wine-and-spirits situation is part of a broader negotiation and might not be set for immediate resolution, given everything the administration is trying to accomplish on trade.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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