Diesel Is Soaring on Sanctions and Wrong Type of Oil, Total Says
Diesel futures in Europe have surged at times in recent weeks, touching the equivalent of $110 a barrel. That's in part because traders are having to find supplies from further afield since a ban on Russian imports came into effect, Patrick Pouyanne, Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies SE said on the company's second-quarter earnings call.
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Forbes
a minute ago
- Forbes
The Risk Of Rushing: Details Murky On Trump, Van Der Leyen Trade Deal
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen shakes hands with President during a ... More meeting at Trump Turnberry golf club on Sunday in Scotland. (Photo by) President Trump and European Union President Ursula von der Leyen shook hands on a deal Sunday to stave off 30% tariffs on U.S. imports from the E.U., which could have been effective on Friday, though it remains unclear what the deal is. Perhaps what they really agreed to is to stall for more time. Historically, trade agreements take a great deal of time and review before being announced. That said, it appears that most if not all U.S. imports from the European Union will face a 15% tariff. That's one area of disagreement if not among the two parties, then at least among the first reporting on the limited 'details.' It also appears that most U.S. exports to the 27 nations of the European Union will not have a tariff. That's another area of disagreement, at least in the early reporting. That 15% tariff on U.S. imports is up slightly from the 10% 'baseline' tariff already in place with all countries of the world since Trump began the global trade war to reduce the U.S. deficit, which is still increasing. It is, of course, significantly higher than the 1.2% tariff rate on U.S. imports from the European Union that preceded it. (The 'deal' would seem to lower the 25% tariff in place on passenger vehicle imports into the United States.) On the U.S. export side, the zero tariff rate would replace a rate of 2.8%, so not a big change. But a spokesperson for the European Union would not respond to a 'request for comment about Trump's claim." Here's where it gets really important: Does the 15% tariff on E.U. imports include critical medicines and the compounds used to make those medicines, imports into the United States that Ireland and other European nations dominate? President Trump says no, according to one news source. 'We have 15% for pharmaceuticals,' Von der Leyen said, according to another. I wrote last week about the risk of the trade war on Americans' access to important medicines because of the United States' reliance on Europe for so many medicines and a great deal of the chemical compounds used to produce drugs here. Regardless of whether pharmaceuticals are hit with 15% tariffs or not, it is not hard to imagine that whatever tariffs are ultimately imposed will put pressure on prices as the U.S. government collects revenues from the European Union and a host of other nations. One thing on which Trump and van der Leyen did agree was that making a deal was important to both sides, given the strength of the trading relationship. The United States' top 15 trade partners, which account for 44.40% of all U.S. trade, including 44.22% of all U.S. exports and 44.51% of all imports, includes the following seven European Union nations: Overall, the trade with just these European Union nations is relatively balanced, with those seven accounting for 21.38% of all U.S. trade, including 20.27% of all exports and 22.05% of all U.S. imports. The overall deficit with these five nations is $149.61 billion. The percentages for all 27 European nations is similar on total trade and U.S. exports but it drops on imports, since many of the other countries are without the same buying power. Overall, the European Union is accounting for 20.22% of all U.S. imports and 18.57% of all U.S. exports through May, the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau. Gaining clarity on the issues will be important. Six of the 10 U.S. imports from the European Union where the E.U. was a dominant source were in the area of pharmaceuticals and with chemical compounds used to make medicines in this country. The same six in 10 statistic is true of U.S. exports to the 27-nation European Union. For example, 99.22% of $42.95 billion in U.S. imports in the insulin, hormone and steroid category (HS code 2937) through May were from the European Union, with 98.48% coming from Ireland, according to my analysis of the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. It is the top U.S. import from the European Union this year. The same category is a top U.S. export to the European Union, accounting for 53.85% of the $4.94 billion in U.S. exports to the world, ranking fourth overall to the European Union. But the 15% tariffs would affect a broad range of exports and imports. The European Union is responsible for 79.77% of the $2.97 billion in wine imports into the United States through May and 80.78% of $2.15 billion in perfumes. While these are the U.S. import categories that the European Union dominates by global market share, they are not the largest by value. Among those not mentioned above for market share that are among the top 10 by value from the European Union are: It is, of course, not clear whether those last two would face tariffs or not. Switching over to the U.S. export side, the European Union has an appetite for the broad nut category (HS code 0802) that is dominated by shelled almonds and pistachios in the shell, with 37.49% of the $4.09 billion total in U.S. exports through May headed to the European Union. In addition, the E.U. has a thirst for the alcoholic spirits category (HS code 2208) that is dominated by bourbon and whiskey, with 46.66% of the total $1.08 billion sent to the world. Any decrease in tariffs on these would certainly be welcome. During the press conference announcing the framework for a deal, Trump emphasized that the European Union would be increasing its purchase of U.S. energy and, he hoped, cars. The European Union, Trump said, would be buying $750 billion in U.S. energy products, though it was not clear over what period of time or even which ones, specifically. In 2024, U.S. exports to the world of oil, gasoline and other refined petroleum products, and natural gas such as LNG – the dominant categories – was less than $300 billion. And most refined petroleum exports stay in the Western Hemisphere. But the European Union is a big market for U.S. exports of oil, petroleum gas and cars. One thing is clear: There is more work to be done before it is clear what the deal on which Trump and van der Leyen shook hands actually is.
Bloomberg
a minute ago
- Bloomberg
Trump's Tariffs Are Already Stunting World Growth While Markets Shrug
As Donald Trump barrels toward his latest tariff deadline, the damage to the global economy from American protectionism is becoming increasingly evident, even if financial markets seem to have decided they can live with it. The US president has announced preliminary agreements with the European Union, Japan and a handful of others that raise tariff rates, and he's promising to impose even higher duties on Aug. 1 for countries that haven't cut deals. It all amounts to another step change in the trade barrier that Trump has erected around America, which is starting to reshape trade and investment patterns worldwide.
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
EU and US agree trade deal, with 15% tariffs for European exports to America
The United States and European Union have reached a trade deal, ending a months-long standoff between two of the world's key economic partners. After make-or-break negotiations between President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen in Scotland, the pair agreed on a blanket US tariff on all EU goods of 15%. That is half the 30% import tax rate Trump had threatened to implement starting on Friday. Trump said the 27-member bloc would open its markets to US exporters with zero per cent tariffs on certain products. Von der Leyen also hailed the deal, saying it would bring stability for both allies, who together account for almost a third of global trade. Trump has threatened tariffs against major US trade partners in a bid to reorder the global economy and trim the American trade deficit. As well as the EU, he has also struck tariff agreements with the UK, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although he has not achieved his goal of "90 deals in 90 days". Sunday's deal was announced after private talks between Trump and Von der Leyen at his Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. Trump - who is on a five-day visit to Scotland - said following a brief meeting with the European Commission president: "We have reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody." "It's going to bring us closer together," he added. Von der Leyen also hailed it as a "huge deal", after "tough negotiations". Under the agreement, Trump said the EU would boost its investment in the US by $600bn (£446bn), purchase hundreds of billions of dollars of American military equipment and spend $750bn on energy. That investment in American liquified natural gas, oil and nuclear fuels would, Von der Leyen said, help reduce European reliance on Russian power sources. "I want to thank President Trump personally for his personal commitment and his leadership to achieve this breakthrough," she said. "He is a tough negotiator, but he is also a dealmaker." The US president also said a 50% tariff he has implemented on steel and aluminium globally would stay in place. Both sides can paint this agreement as something of a victory. For the EU, the tariffs could have been worse: it is not as good as the UK's 10% tariff rate, but is the same as the 15% rate that Japan negotiated. For the US it equates to the expectation of roughly $90bn of tariff revenue into government coffers – based on last year's trade figures, plus there's hundreds of billions of dollars of investment now due to come into the US. How are trade deals actually negotiated? They made America's clothing. Now they are getting punished for it In pictures: President Trump's private visit to Scotland Trade in goods between the EU and US totalled about $975.9bn last year. Last year the US imported about $606bn in goods from the EU and exported around $370bn. That imbalance, or trade deficit, is a sticking point for Trump. He says trade relationships like this mean the US is "losing". If he had followed through on tariffs against Europe, import taxes would have been levied on products from Spanish pharmaceuticals to Italian leather, German electronics and French cheese. The EU had said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on US goods including car parts, Boeing planes and beef. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans his own meeting with Trump at Turnberry on Monday. Trump will be in Aberdeen on Tuesday, where his family has another golf course and is opening a third next month. The president and his sons plan to help cut the ribbon on the new fairway. Australia to lift import ban on US beef after Trump tariffs tiff
