On July 28, 2025, the White House issued a statement outlining the details of the trade deal between the United States and the European Union (the "U.S.-EU Deal"), following weeks of negotiating and tariff threats on both sides. The U.S.-EU Deal establishes a 15% tariff on imports of items originating in the EU and provides for other tariff and non-tariff actions each side will take upon finalization. The 15% tariff will also apply to pharmaceuticals, automobiles and auto parts, and semiconductors; however, according to the White House, steel, aluminum, and copper imports from the EU will face a 50% tariff.
Additional Terms of the U.S.-EU Deal per the Trump Administration
The White House statement provides the following additional terms:
- The EU will purchase $750 billion of energy exports from the U.S. through 2028, purchase large quantities of military equipment from the U.S., and invest $600 billion in the U.S. during the Trump administration.
- The EU will eliminate tariffs in several sectors and establish quota schemes for certain products.
- The EU and the U.S. will establish strong rules of origin and collaborate to address barriers to digital trade. Both the EU and the U.S. agreed to maintain zero duties on electronic transmissions, and the EU agrees to not adopt or maintain network usage fees.
- The EU will address non-tariff barriers for U.S. industrial and agricultural exports. For industrial goods, the EU will work to eliminate the red tape and burdensome requirements faced by U.S. exporters. For agricultural goods, the EU will streamline requirements for sanitary certificates for U.S. dairy and pork exports.
- The U.S. and the EU will strengthen economic security alignment to enhance supply chain resilience and innovation, including taking complimentary actions to address third party non-market policies and cooperating on export controls, duty evasion, and inbound and outbound investment reviews.
- The U.S. and the EU will recognize multiple commercial agreements in sectors like semiconductors and energy. These agreements will expand U.S. access to the European market.
Discrepancies with the EU Statement
On July 28, the EU released its own statement regarding the terms of the U.S.-EU Deal. While both statements generally outline the same terms, the EU statement noticeably diverges from the White House statement in a few key areas:
- The EU statement stresses that the 15% tariff on EU goods is all inclusive, applies to nearly all exports affected by the reciprocal tariffs, and is a ceiling for tariffs on EU goods.
- Starting August 1, the U.S. will lower tariffs to pre-January 2025 levels on imports of certain chemicals, certain drug generics, aircraft and aircraft parts, or natural resources. The EU and the U.S. will continue to work together to select more products to receive similar treatment.
- The U.S. and the EU will collaborate to establish a tariff rate quota (TRQ) scheme, and cut the 50% tariff, for imports of EU steel, aluminum, and copper.
- The EU statement gives more specifics on the EU markets to be
opened to the U.S. and barriers to be lowered by the EU, including:
- Eliminating already low duties on industrial goods from the U.S.;
- Opening the EU market to U.S. fishery products like Alaskan pollock and shrimp, which will be subject to TRQs;
- Opening the EU market to U.S. agricultural goods and food and subjecting them to TRQs, including for products like planting seeds and grain and processed food stuff like cocoa and biscuits;
- Reducing non-tariff barriers through cooperation on car/automotive standards.
- Rather than state that the EU will invest $600 billion in the U.S., the EU statement notes that European companies show interest in investing at least $600 billion in the United States by 2029.
- The EU statement notes that the U.S.-EU Deal is neither final nor legally binding, and the EU and the U.S. will continue to negotiate when implementing the agreement.
Conclusion
Before the U.S.-EU Deal can be implemented, it will need to go through the necessary approval process of the EU. The two statements provide an overview of what the deal will entail when implemented, but the discrepancies highlight that the deal may change during these final stages. If you have questions about U.S. or EU tariffs, the relationship between the two, and the U.S.-EU Deal moving forward, please contact the attorneys at Torres Trade Law.
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