President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a sweeping trade deal that imposes 15% tariffs on most European goods, according to the Associated Press.
The agreement averts Trump’s threat of a 30% rate if a deal had not been reached by Aug. 1.
The import taxes could drive up prices for U.S. consumers buying European goods and dent profits for European companies and their partners who bring goods into the country.
Meanwhile, top Chinese and U.S. trade officials met in Stockholm on Monday for a new round of talks, aiming to ease trade tensions between the world’s two largest national economies.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met for talks that the former has said will likely lead to an extension of current tariff levels. The talks are the third this year between He and Bessent, nearly four months after Trump made broad tariff proposals that included an import tax that shot up to 145% on Chinese goods. China’s prompt retaliation had global financial markets reeling.
The two envoys could potentially set the stage for a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year to cement a recent thaw in trade tensions, analysts say.
