U.S., E.U. outline tariff deal, including medicine, autos and more
Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The European Union and the United States announced the details of their tariff agreement Thursday, with new details about pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
The two sides came to an agreement last month after weeks of negotiations. The deal includes 15% blanket tariffs on EU exports to the United States. Under the deal, the EU also agreed to buy $750 billion in U.S. energy and invest at least an additional $600 billion in the United States.
Political and business leaders at the time expressed concern that the agreement isn't balanced and that it isn't clear how it will affect tariffs on particular industries that President Donald Trump has already put in place.
After the announcement, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told reporters that "this is the most favorable trade deal the U.S. has extended to any partner."
"But this is not the end. This is the beginning. This framework is the first step, one that can grow over time to cover more sectors, improve market access, and strengthen our economic ties even further," he added.
Starting Sept. 1, the U.S. will apply only Most Favored Nation duties, at 15%, on several goods from the EU, including "unavailable natural resources (including cork), all aircraft and aircraft parts, generic pharmaceuticals and their ingredients and chemical precursors."
Some Section 232 tariffs are capped at the higher 15% tariff rate, including those on lumber, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals, a senior U.S. administration official told CNBC. This is below the rates Trump has threatened, including a 100% levy on semiconductors.
The statement noted that the E.U. plans "to eliminate tariffs on all U.S. industrial goods and to provide preferential market access for a wide range of U.S. seafood and agricultural goods." This was already broadly covered in the initial plan.
The announcement restated the E.U.'s planned spending figures, including on AI chips, energy, and larger investments in the United States. But it described them as intended and expected, rather than as guaranteed, a senior administration official told CNBC.
Thursday's statement also noted plans for the E.U. to "substantially" increase its purchase of U.S. military and defense equipment, even though Europe has committed to growing its own defense capabilities.
The two sides announced that they had agreed to a conditional 15% tariff for European autos and auto parts bound for the United States -- but only after Brussels created legislation to reduce their industrial duties, according to a senior administration official.
"With respect to automobiles, the United States and the European Union intend to accept and provide mutual recognition to each other's standards," the U.S. and E.U. said in the joint statement Thursday.
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