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Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Analysis-Out-gunned Europe accepts least-worst US trade deal
By Mark John LONDON (Reuters) -In the end, Europe found it lacked the leverage to pull Donald Trump's America into a trade pact on its terms and so has signed up to a deal it can just about stomach - albeit one that is clearly skewed in the U.S.'s favour. As such, Sunday's agreement on a blanket 15% tariff after a months-long stand-off is a reality check on the aspirations of the 27-country European Union to become an economic power able to stand up to the likes of the United States or China. The cold shower is all the more bracing given that the EU has long portrayed itself as an export superpower and champion of rules-based commerce for the benefit both of its own soft power and the global economy as a whole. For sure, the new tariff that will now be applied is a lot more digestible than the 30% "reciprocal" tariff which Trump threatened to invoke in a few days. While it should ensure Europe avoids recession, it will likely keep its economy in the doldrums: it sits somewhere between two tariff scenarios the European Central Bank last month forecast would mean 0.5-0.9% economic growth this year compared to just over 1% in a trade tension-free environment. But this is nonetheless a landing point that would have been scarcely imaginable only months ago in the pre-Trump 2.0 era, when the EU along with much of the world could count on U.S. tariffs averaging out at around 1.5%. Even when Britain agreed a baseline tariff of 10% with the United States back in May, EU officials were adamant they could do better and - convinced the bloc had the economic heft to square up to Trump - pushed for a "zero-for-zero" tariff pact. It took a few weeks of fruitless talks with their U.S. counterparts for the Europeans to accept that 10% was the best they could get and a few weeks more to take the same 15% baseline which the United States agreed with Japan last week. "The EU does not have more leverage than the U.S., and the Trump administration is not rushing things," said one senior official in a European capital who was being briefed on last week's negotiations as they closed in around the 15% level. That official and others pointed to the pressure from Europe's export-oriented businesses to clinch a deal and so ease the levels of uncertainty starting to hit businesses from Finland's Nokia to Swedish steelmaker SSAB. "We were dealt a bad hand. This deal is the best possible play under the circumstances," said one EU diplomat. "Recent months have clearly shown how damaging uncertainty in global trade is for European businesses." NOW WHAT? That imbalance - or what the trade negotiators have been calling "asymmetry" - is manifest in the final deal. Not only is it expected that the EU will now call off any retaliation and remain open to U.S. goods on existing terms, but it has also pledged $600 billion of investment in the United States. The time-frame for that remains undefined, as do other details of the accord for now. As talks unfolded, it became clear that the EU came to the conclusion it had more to lose from all-out confrontation. The retaliatory measures it threatened totalled some 93 billion euros - less than half its U.S. goods trade surplus of nearly 200 billion euros. True, a growing number of EU capitals were also ready to envisage wide-ranging anti-coercion measures that would have allowed the bloc to target the services trade in which the United States had a surplus of some $75 billion last year. But even then, there was no clear majority for targeting the U.S. digital services which European citizens enjoy and for which there are scant homegrown alternatives - from Netflix to Uber to Microsoft cloud services. It remains to be seen whether this will encourage European leaders to accelerate the economic reforms and diversification of trading allies to which they have long paid lip service but which have been held back by national divisions. Describing the deal as a painful compromise that was an "existential threat" for many of its members, Germany's BGA wholesale and export association said it was time for Europe to reduce its reliance on its biggest trading partner. "Let's look on the past months as a wake-up call," said BGA President Dirk Jandura. "Europe must now prepare itself strategically for the future - we need new trade deals with the biggest industrial powers of the world." (Additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski in Brussels; Christian Kraemer and Maria Martinez in Berlin; Writing by Mark John; Editing by Nick Zieminski) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Factbox-Key elements of EU-U.S. trade deal agreed on Sunday
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The U.S. and the European Union agreed on a framework trade deal on Sunday, ending months of uncertainty for industry and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. Here are the main elements of the deal: * Almost all EU goods entering the U.S. will be subject to a 15% baseline tariff, including cars, which now face 27.5%, as well as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. The 15% tariff is the maximum tariff and is not added to any existing rates. * However, the U.S. is to announce the result of its 232 trade investigations in two weeks and decide separately on tariff rates for chips and pharmaceuticals. Whatever U.S. decisions come later on these sectors will be "on a different sheet of paper", European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. * The U.S. and EU will have zero-for-zero tariffs on all aircraft and their components, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials. More products would be added. The situation for spirits is still to be established. * Tariffs on European steel and aluminium will stay at 50%, but von der Leyen said these would later be cut and replaced by a quota system. * The EU pledged to buy $250 billion of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year for three years, totalling $750 billion in total, as it replaces Russian gas. The EU will also buy nuclear fuel from the U.S. * Under the deal, the EU pledged to buy U.S. military equipment and European companies are to invest $600 billion in the U.S. over the course of Trump's second term. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBS News
4 minutes ago
- CBS News
Community demands release of Maryland pastor who was arrested by ICE
A community in Easton, Maryland, is demanding the release of a pastor who was arrested earlier this week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, accused of overstaying his visa by 25 years. As of Saturday, 54-year-old Daniel Fuentes Espinal was in custody at an ICE detention facility in Louisiana, records show. Fuentes Espinal, a church pastor and construction worker, has lived in the U.S. since 2001. Those close to the family told WJZ that he is a father of three with no criminal record. In a statement to WJZ, ICE said he entered the country at the time legally on a six-month visa, but that it expired. "It's devastated our community," family friend Len Foxwell said. "It's shocked our community." Foxwell told WJZ that Fuentes Espinal was arrested as he was on his way to his day job on July 21. "Literally had been out that morning to pick up building supplies and was on his way to a job site when he got pulled over," Foxwell said. "He was arrested on site." Fuentes Espinal is a pastor at Iglesia Del Nazareno Jesus Te Amam in Easton. The family has been working for years to secure a Green Card for him, Foxwell said. After his arrest, Fuentes Espinal was taken to a detention center in Salisbury, transferred to Baltimore then to the Winn Correctional Facility in Louisiana. "He spent three days at a detention center in Baltimore, sleeping on a cold bench with barely enough food to eat," Foxwell said. "Now, he's in Louisiana and heaven only knows what's happening there." Fuentes Espinal is now awaiting a bond hearing in this case. Members of the Easton community rallied Friday to demand that Fuentes Espinal be released. A spokesperson for Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland said he is aware of the situation involving Fuentes Espinal, but doesn't have "specifics" of the case. "Congressman Harris believes due process within the immigration enforcement system is important and that facts should be clear before making any further public comment," the statement said. Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said his team is working with Fuentes Espinal's family. He also criticized the Trump administration, saying it is "snatching up anyone they can find as they pursue their mass deportation agenda." Van Hollen has been extremely vocal about his opposition to the Trump administration's immigration effort, especially in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported from Maryland and sent to a prison in El Salvador in March. Van Hollen traveled to the country to check on Abrego Garcia's well-being and called for him to receive a fair immigration hearing. Abrego Garcia was later returned to the U.S. to face federal human smuggling charges in a case that continues to play out in court.
