Trump Announces EU Trade Deal

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration reached a trade deal with the European Union Sunday after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Trump in Scotland, Reuters reported.

The deal would see the E.U. shoulder a 15% tariff on E.U. imports to the U.S. and on large-scale purchases of American energy and military equipment, according to the outlet. Trump on July 11 had written to von der Leyen that the U.S. would levy a 30% tariff on E.U. imports, decrying “long-term, persistent, and large” trade deficits.

The two leaders met in Turnberry, Scotland, according to a White House video of the two at a press conference there.

The E.U. would not impose tariffs on U.S. goods entering the supranational entity’s market, under the terms of the new deal, Trump said, according to NBC News.

Asked by a reporter if he could offer the E.U. lower than 15%, Trump said no. Europe had hoped for a deal without any tariffs imposed by both sides but European companies would still likely welcome the deal, according to Reuters.

Trump said the U.S. has had a great relationship with the E.U. “but it has been a very one-sided transaction, very unfair to the United States.”

The U.S. and the E.U. are the two largest global economies with a trade volume of $1.7 trillion between both economies and a combined market of 800 million people, von der Leyen told reporters. She expressed optimism that the new trade deal, if successful, would be the biggest deal each entity has ever made. (RELATED: Howard Lutnick Reveals How Trump Admin Secured Massive Trade Deal With Japan)

Trump went into the meeting only half-certain about making the deal and that there were three or four issues to address, according to the livestream. “I think the main sticking point is fairness,” he said.

The deal would be about rebalancing, von der Leyen said. “We have a surplus, the United States has a deficit, and we have to rebalance it,” she added.

The U.S. trade deficit with the E.U. stood at nearly $236 billion in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It stood at just over $137.3 billion between January and May 2025 — up from $92,482.7 within the same period in 2024, according to the data.

The E.U. market is closed to American cars while the U.S. imports millions of cars from the E.U., according to Trump. While the U.S. imported 749,170 cars from the E.U. in 2024, the E.U. imported 164,857 cars from the U.S., according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

Trump praised von der Leyen for having “done a terrific job for them [the E.U.] — not for us — but she’s done a great job and she’s highly respected by us also.”