Europe Welcomes US Trade Fight Pause Despite Critic Warnings
The High Costs of Trump's 'Big Beautiful' New Car Loan Deduction
Can This Bridge Ease the Troubled US-Canadian Relationship?
Budapest's Most Historic Site Gets a Controversial Rebuild
Trump Administration Sues NYC Over Sanctuary City Policy
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who met with Trump in his golf club in Turnberry, Scotland, on Sunday, hailed the agreement for the stability and predictability it will offer businesses and consumers. The EU knew that the deal would favor the US, but von der Leyen urged reporters to 'not forget where we came from,' referencing tariff rates Trump threatened that were as high as 50%.
Subscribe to the Bloomberg Daybreak Podcast on Apple, Spotify and other Podcast Platforms.
The lower rate came as a relief to member states that are dependent on exports, especially Germany, which exported $34.9 billion of new cars and auto parts to the US in 2024.
'The agreement has succeeded in averting a trade conflict that would have hit the export-oriented German economy hard,' German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a statement late Sunday. 'This has enabled us to safeguard our core interests, even if I would have liked to have seen further easing in transatlantic trade.'
Without a deal, Bloomberg Economics estimated that the total US average effective tariff rate would rise to nearly 18% on Aug. 1 from 13.5% under current policies. The new deal brings that number down to 16%.
Prior to Trump's latest trade fight, the EU estimated the average tariff rate to be about 1% on both sides.
The pact removes a major risk for markets and the global economy, given the transatlantic partners did €1.7 trillion ($2 trillion) worth of cross-border commerce in 2024. European stocks and US equity futures climbed on Monday with the Stoxx 600 index gaining 0.7%.
Industry officials in Germany, however, warned that the deal leaves the auto industry exposed and will make companies in Europe less competitive.
'The agreement is an inadequate compromise and sends a disastrous signal to the closely intertwined economies on both sides of the Atlantic,' said Wolfgang Niedermark, a member of the executive board of Germany's BDI industry federation. 'The EU is accepting painful tariffs. Even a 15% tariff will have immense negative consequences for Germany's export-oriented industry.'
France, which took a more hawkish approach to the negotiations, highlighted the stability the agreement would bring, but also recommended triggering the EU's anti-coercion instrument, which would initiate a massive retaliation against the US, hitting American technology companies and blocking US firms from public procurement projects in Europe.
'Let's be clear: the current situation is not satisfactory and cannot be sustainable,' French Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad said in a social media post. 'The free trade that has brought shared prosperity to both sides of the Atlantic since the end of the Second World War is now rejected by the United States, which is choosing economic coercion and complete disregard for WTO rules.'
Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade Hanneke Boerma said the deal was 'not ideal' and called on the commission to continue negotiations with the US.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has long been a thorn in the sides of the Brussels' institutions, took an even tougher line, in part criticizing von der Leyen while praising the American president.
'What's clear is that this isn't a deal Donald Trump struck with Ursula von der Leyen,' Orban said in an online interview with a pro-government influencer on Monday. 'Donald Trump ate Ursula von der Leyen for breakfast. The American president is a heavyweight negotiator, Madam President is featherweight.'
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who typically joins Orban in criticizing the EU, said that 15% is 'a good negotiation result,' though he warned that the devil is 'hidden in the details.'
Slovakia's car industry accounts for about 10% of the country's GDP and is home to plants owned by VW, Stellantis, Kia and Jaguar Land Rover, plus an extensive network of suppliers.
Trade accords typically require years of negotiations and can run thousands of pages long. The deal reached between the EU and US was thin on details and so far hasn't produced any written details.
'The focus will now turn to interpretation and implementation risk, posing a mix of political and technical questions,' Carsten Nickel, deputy director of research at Teneo, wrote in a note. 'Given the nature of the deal, major uncertainties are likely to persist.'
The EU agreed to purchase $750 billion in American energy products, invest $600 billion in the US on top of existing expenditures, open up countries' markets to trade with the US at zero tariffs and purchase 'vast amounts' of military equipment, Trump said.
Key to getting the 15% rate to apply to pharmaceuticals and semiconductors was the bloc's promise to make US investments, according to people familiar with the matter.
Clemens Fuest, president of Germany's Ifo Institute for Economic Research, called the deal a 'humiliation' that reflects the imbalance of power between the EU and US.
'The Europeans need to wake up, focus more on economic strength and reduce their military and technological dependence on the US,' Fuest said on social media. 'Then they can renegotiate.'
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou had even stronger words when discussing the new deal.
'It's a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, united to affirm their values and defend their interests, opts for submission,' he wrote on social media.
--With assistance from Kamil Kowalcze, Alberto Brambilla, Zoltan Simon, Daniel Hornak, Sarah Jacob, James Regan and William Wilkes.
(Updates with industry comment in the ninth paragraph.)
Burning Man Is Burning Through Cash
It's Not Just Tokyo and Kyoto: Tourists Descend on Rural Japan
Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk
Confessions of a Laptop Farmer: How an American Helped North Korea's Wild Remote Worker Scheme
Scottish Wind Farms Show How to Counter Nimby Opposition
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pam Bondi Escalates Attacks On Obama Officials By Calling For Grand Jury Investigation: Reports
The Justice Department is reportedly probing allegations that Obama officials fabricated evidence of Russian interference during the 2016 election, doubling down on attempts to distract from its controversial handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Per reports from CNN and Fox News, Attorney General Pam Bondi has called on prosecutors to initiate a grand jury investigation into these claims – a move that could lead to subpoenas of former officials and even potential indictments. A DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bondi's decision effectively endorses Trump's latest baseless conspiracy theory — which has included accusing Obama of treason — and comes as the administration has struggled to move on from the Epstein debacle. In recent weeks, Trump argued that Obama and his team manipulated intelligence to delegitimize his presidency, pointing to an announcement from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard as proof. Gabbard, in July, released files that she says indicate that Obama officials produced a 'contrived narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help President Trump win.' She also referred the issue to the DOJ for a criminal investigation ― and suggested that these actions were effectively a 'coup.' Gabbard's interpretation distorts past conclusions drawn by members of the intelligence community, who determined that Russia fielded an influence campaign to damage former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and boost Trump. That finding was also backed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Senate Intelligence Committee – including now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio. While Gabbard's files provide new information, they don't negate prior findings that Russia sought to influence U.S. voters during the 2016 election, NPR reports. Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush has dismissed Trump's accusations as a 'ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction' as well. 'Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,' Rodenbush said in July. Related... Sen. Graham Calls For 'Investigation' Into Obama — Playing Into Trump's Epstein Distraction Obama Team Issues Rare Rebuttal To Continued Trump Nonsense Trump Renews Lie That Russia Did Not Help Him In 2016, This Time With Gabbard's Help
San Francisco Chronicle
13 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Brazil's Supreme Court orders house arrest for former President Bolsonaro, a Trump ally
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's Supreme Court on Monday ordered the house arrest for former President Jair Bolsonaro, on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup plot to remain in office despite his defeat in the 2022 election — a case that has gripped the South American country as it faces a trade war with the Trump administration. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the case against Bolsonaro before the top court, said in his decision that the 70-year-old former president had violated precautionary measures imposed on him by spreading content through his three lawmaker sons. Bolsonaro's lawyers said in a statement that he will appeal the decision. They said his words 'good afternoon, Copacabana, good afternoon my Brazil, a hug to everyone, this is for our freedom" — broadcast from a cell phone of one of his sons during a Sunday protest in Rio de Janeiro — cannot 'be regarded as ignoring precautionary measures or as a criminal act.' The trial of the far-right leader is receiving renewed attention after U.S. President Donald Trump directly tied a 50% tariff on imported Brazilian goods to his ally's judicial situation. Trump has called the proceedings a ' witch hunt,' triggering nationalist reactions from leaders of all branches of power in Brazil, including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Hours after the decision, the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said on X that the Trump administration 'condemns (de) Moraes' order imposing house arrest on Bolsonaro and will hold accountable all those aiding and abetting sanctioned conduct.' 'Putting even more restrictions on Jair Bolsonaro's ability to defend himself in public is not a public service. Let Bolsonaro speak!' the U.S. State Department body said. The case against Bolsonaro Brazil's prosecutors accuse Bolsonaro of heading a criminal organization that plotted to overturn the election, including plans to kill Lula and Justice de Moraes after the far-right leader narrowly lost his reelection bid in 2022. Monday's order followed one from the top court last month that ordered Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle monitor and imposed a curfew on his activities while the proceedings are underway. Following news of the arrest order, a staffer with Brazil's federal police told The Associated Press that federal agents had seized cell phones at Bolsonaro's residence in the capital of Brasilia, as ordered by de Moraes in his decision. The staffer spoke on condition of anonymity due to their lack of authorization to speak about the matter publicly. Bolsonaro is expected to remain in Brasilia for his house arrest as he is not allowed to travel. He also has a house in Rio de Janeiro, where he held his electoral base as a lawmaker for three decades. The former army captain is the fourth former president of Brazil to be arrested since the end of the country's military rule from 1964 to 1985, which Bolsonaro supported. 'Flagrant disrespect' The move from the Brazilian justice comes a day after tens of thousands of Bolsonaro supporters took the streets in the cities of Sao Paulo and Rio, pleading for Brazil's congress to pardon him and hundreds of others who are either under trial or jailed for their roles in the destruction of government buildings in Brasilia on Jan. 8, 2023. On Sunday, Bolsonaro addressed supporters in Rio through the phone of one of his sons, which de Moraes' described as illegal. 'The flagrant disrespect to the precautionary measures was so obvious that the defendant's son, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, decided to remove the posting in his Instagram profile, with the objective of hiding the legal transgression,' de Moraes wrote. Flávio Bolsonaro claimed on X that Brazil 'is officially in a dictatorship' after his father's house arrest. 'The persecution of de Moraes against Bolsonaro has no limits!' the senator wrote. De Moraes added in his ruling that Jair Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022, has spread messages with 'a clear content of encouragement and instigation to attacks against the Supreme Court and a blatant support for foreign intervention in the Brazilian Judiciary' — likely a veiled reference to Trump's support for Bolsonaro. De Moraes also said that Bolsonaro 'addressed protesters gathered in Copacabana, in Rio' on Sunday so his supporters could 'try to coerce the Supreme Court.' Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on de Moraes over alleged suppression of freedom of expression regarding Bolsonaro's trial. On Monday, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs called the Brazilian justice 'a U.S.-sanctioned human rights abuser' and accused him of using "institutions to silence opposition and threaten democracy." De Moraes said in his decision that '(Brazil's) judiciary will not allow a defendant to make a fool out of it." "Justice is the same for all. A defendant who willingly ignores precautionary measures — for the second time — must suffer legal consequences,' he said. Possible trouble ahead Creomar de Souza, a political analyst of Dharma Political Risk and Strategy, a political consultancy firm based in Brasilia, said Bolsonaro's house arrest opens a new moment for the country's opposition, which will could gather steam in fighting against Lula's reelection bid next year. Now, de Souza said, 'the 2026 election looks like turmoil' and the political debate in Brazil will likely be split between two key struggles. 'One is the effort of Bolsonaro supporters to keep strong on the right, no matter if it is pushing for amnesty in congress or putting themselves physically out there,' the analyst said. 'The second is how the Lula administration will try to show that the country has a government.' 'This is just the start,' he concluded. The latest decision from the top court keeps Bolsonaro under ankle monitoring, allows only family members and lawyers to visit him and seizes all mobile phones from his home. Lula was imprisoned for 580 days between 2018 and 2019 in a corruption conviction that was later tossed out by the Supreme Court, citing the bias of the judge in the case. Michel Temer, who became president after Dilma Rousseff was impeached in 2016, was arrested for 10 days in 2019 in connection with a graft investigation, which later ended without a conviction. Earlier this year, de Moraes ordered the detention of President Fernando Collor, who was in office from 1990 to 1992 until he was impeached. The 75-year-old former president was convicted for money laundering and corruption in 2023 and is now serving his more than eight-year sentence. Hours after the order, right-wing lawmakers criticized de Moraes' decision and compared Bolsonaro's situation to that of his predecessors. 'House arrest for Jair Bolsonaro by de Moraes. Reason: corruption?' asked lawmaker Nikolas Ferreira. 'No. His kids posted his content on social media. Pathetic.' The far-right leader is already barred from next year's election due to an abuse of power conviction by the country's top electoral court. 'And those who attacked it are about to pay,' Salabert said.
NBC News
14 minutes ago
- NBC News
Nebraska Republican faces rowdy town hall with questions about Epstein files and fired BLS chief
Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., held a town hall Monday that started with boos from the crowd shortly after he took the stage and ended with chants of 'vote him out' when the event ended. In between, the Nebraska Republican was consistently heckled while responding to questions about releasing more information on Jeffrey Epstein, President Donald Trump's firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner and cuts to Medicaid in the GOP's 'Big, Beautiful Bill.' Audience members began yelling at Flood and booing him when he talked about Medicaid and the impact of Trump's sweeping domestic policy law on hospitals in Nebraska. Flood argued that there's 'a lot of misinformation' about the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' which no Democrats voted for when it made its way through Congress this summer. Later he faced a question that suggested he was covering up files related to Epstein. Flood responded by saying he supports releasing the files and will co-sponsor a non-binding House resolution calling for their publication. Flood added that he supports an effort led by House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., to have Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell sit for a deposition. Comer last week postponed Maxwell's deposition, previously scheduled for Aug. 11, until at least October to let the Supreme Court decide in late September whether it will review her case. Flood also weighed in on the firing of BLS chief Erika McEntarfer, who Trump dismissed Friday shortly after the agency published figures showing that hiring in the U.S. had significantly slowed significantly in recent months. The congressman suggested he might have handled the situation differently, while adding that he does not know 'all the details' about McEntarfer's firing. 'I don't know what the situation was with the Department of Labor person. Neither do you. I don't know. I don't know,' Flood said. 'I can tell you I've been an employer for a lot of years, and there's always two sides to every story, and I don't know what that side was. I will say this, though, if all that person did was get the data out there, if all that, and I don't know that's the case, but if that's all they did, I would not have fired her.' Several Republican senators, as well as economists and statisticians, took issue with Trump terminating McEntarfer last week. Audience members yelled, jeered and booed throughout the event, with audible chants of 'free Palestine,' 'tax the rich,' and during the town hall's conclusion, calls to 'vote him out.' When Flood attempted to engage with audience members on those topics, he was largely met with more protests. Attendees asked at least three different questions about the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, specifically about Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz,' which one attendee called 'Alligator Auschwitz.' Inquiring about the immigration detention facility in Florida, one attendee asked Flood, 'How much do taxpayers have to pay for a fascist country?' Flood responded to by saying the majority of Americans voted for Trump and not for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. 'Americans voted for a, for a border that is secure, and I support the president enforcing our immigration laws, which, by the way, were written by Congress,' he added, prompting more boos. The Nebraska Democratic Party encouraged people to attend Flood's town hall, telling voters of Nebraska's 1st Congressional District in a social media post, 'you know what to do!' The party also encouraged attendance at Flood's last in-person town hall in the state, in May, when he was grilled by audience members and at one point conceded he had not read a bill in full before voting in favor of it.
