US and EU agree landmark trade deal after months of talks, Donald Trump says
Trump announced the deal as he hosted EU chief Ursula von der Leyen at one of his golf resorts in Scotland.
1
"We have reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody," Trump said.
"It's going to bring us closer together... it's a partnership in a sense," he added.
Meanwhile, von der Leyen hailed it as a "huge deal", which came after "tough negotiations".
The US and EU have longed enjoyed one of the world's largest trade relationships.
Total trade in goods between the EU and US totalled around $975.9bn (£751.4bn) in 2024, estimates say.
The US imported about $606bn (£451bn) worth of goods from the EU and exported around $370bn (£276bn) last year.
Trump has said this trade deficit means the US is "losing".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
19 minutes ago
- Reuters
Oil pauses rally as markets weigh Trump's ultimatum to Russia
NEW DELHI, July 30 (Reuters) - Oil prices took a breather in Asian trade on Wednesday after the previous session's spike of more than 3%, as investors awaited developments from U.S. President Donald Trump's tighter deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Most active Brent crude futures rose 8 cents, or 0.12%, to $71.81 a barrel by 0419 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 8 cents, or 0.12%, to $69.29 a barrel. The Brent crude September contract expiring on Wednesday was up 18 cents at $72.69 per barrel. Both contracts had settled on Tuesday at their highest since June 20. On Tuesday, Trump said he would start imposing measures on Russia, such as secondary tariffs of 100% on trading partners, if it did not make progress on ending the war within 10 to 12 days, moving up from an earlier 50-day deadline. "The $4 to $5 per barrel of supply risk premium injected in recent days can be expected to be sustained, unless Putin makes a conciliatory move," said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights. The United States had warned China, the largest buyer of Russian oil, it could face huge tariffs if it kept buying, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a news conference in Stockholm, where the U.S. was holding trade talks with the EU. JP Morgan analysts said in a note that while China was not likely to comply with U.S. sanctions, India has signalled it would do so, putting at risk 2.3 million barrels per day of Russian oil exports. The United States and the European Union averted a trade war with a deal for 15% U.S. tariffs on European imports, easing concerns about the impact of trade tension on economic growth and offering support to oil prices. In Venezuela, foreign partners of state oil company PDVSA are still waiting for U.S. authorisation to operate in the sanctioned country after talks last week, which could return some supply to the market, so easing pressure for prices to rise. "The oil market is keeping an eye on the U.S. trade deals and talks and on the Fed, but those are marginal influences on sentiment," Hari added. Despite President Donald Trump's objections, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady at its policy meeting later on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund raised global growth forecasts slightly for 2025 and 2026, but warned the world economy faced major risks, such as a rebound in tariff rates, geopolitical tension and larger fiscal deficits.
The Guardian
22 minutes ago
- The Guardian
An effigy of refugees, burned by a crowd: this is where Europe's brutal fantasy of border control has led us
The burning of an effigy of refugees on a boat to the cheers of a riled-up crowd in Moygashel, Northern Ireland shows where we are today. A decade has passed since Europe's border crisis in 2015 and the shock caused by the image of Alan Kurdi, whose little body was found washed up on a Turkish beach. Sentiments of welcome and solidarity were short lived and have given way to a seemingly never-ending obsession in Europe with 'stopping the boats' and reducing the number of migrant arrivals. In the decade since Angela Merkel's 'we can do it', we have become used to hearing that 2015 must not be allowed to happen again. Across Europe, politicians routinely vow to fight migration, 'smash' smuggling gangs, ramp up border controls and build up detention and deportation capacities. A much-criticised migration pact was agreed upon while the annual budget of Frontex, the EU border agency, has seen a staggering increase, from €97.9m in 2014 to €922m in 2024. Entire border zones have become militarised and the guarding of borders has been 'externalised' so that non-EU countries can prevent migration on Europe's behalf. In this past decade, we have also become desensitised to the inevitable consequences of such repressive policies in terms of human suffering and loss. Reports and images of people forced into Libyan torture and rape sites, described by German diplomats as 'concentration camp-like' in 2017, no longer prompt a public outcry. Neither do the deaths of thousands in the Mediterranean every year or the criminalisation of activists who seek to avert mass drowning. Shipwrecks have become so common that they hardly make it into the news. What does make the news, however, is the discourse on migration that characterises it as an emergency. Often dominating headlines, it has become a permanent feature, a sort of enduring state of exception that far-right forces capitalise on. Instead of offering alternative visions of migration, parties of the so-called 'centre' or 'mainstream' amplify such crisis talk, catering to simplistic control fantasies and offering one solution only: more borders. Whether it's the Christian Democrats or the Social Democrats in Germany, Labour in the UK or Emmanuel Macron's government in France, mainstream parties seek to outdo parties to the right of them by pushing increasingly extreme and racist narratives, at times dangerously close to invasion and 'great replacement' conspiracies. In January, the French prime minister, François Bayrou, spoke of a 'feeling of submersion' in view of the migrant presence in France. In May, the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, suggested that the UK was at risk of turning into an 'island of strangers'. In June, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, claimed on Fox News that the past decade's migration to Germany had led to 'imported' antisemitism, so that fighting antisemitism meant fighting migration. Promising to solve societal problems through repressive migration policies and more borders, these 'centrist' or even 'progressive' political leaders are selling a dangerous fantasy. In a world riven by war, genocide, economic disparity, a climate catastrophe and growing authoritarianism, borders will never succeed in averting people's desire and need to migrate or flee. Indeed, the fantasy of borders is met, time and again, by reality: ongoing migration. Distracting from the inability to address any of the structural issues underpinning migration and displacement, and in ever-greater desperation, we are being served 'border spectacles' – performative but nonetheless violent and racist acts of exclusion, demarcating those who supposedly belong and those who do not. In the long shadow of the 'crisis' of 2015, we see intersecting developments across Europe that should worry us. First, a shift to the far right and growing authoritarianism. In Germany, the extremist Alternative for Germany (AfD) has comfortably established itself as the largest opposition party, at times leading in the polls, as do the Reform UK and National Rally parties in the UK and France respectively. Supposedly mainstream political parties have not only failed to stop the rise of the far right, they have contributed to mainstreaming their rhetoric and authoritarian policies. More than that, by intensifying migration cooperation with repressive regimes outside Europe, they have contributed to the rise of authoritarianism elsewhere. Tunisia serves as one of many examples where Europe's financial and political support has strengthened the security apparatus of its authoritarian leader, Kais Saied, who himself has spewed great replacement theories on migration. Second, a shift away from the idea of a 'post-national' community. The constant promise that borders will solve migration has reinforced the illusion that renationalisation is the answer. The departure of the UK from the EU, whose disastrous 'taking back of control' in fact prompted an increase in migration post-Brexit, may be the most obvious example. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion However, throughout the EU, we see an increase in 'borderisation' – the erection of barriers and border controls between member states – as a way to supposedly reclaim 'lost' sovereignty. The very core of the European project – internal freedom of movement – is at risk and points to a growing estrangement from the idea of Europe as a post-national community. Third, an assault on legal norms and institutions. The normalisation of anti-migration violence, including through mass pushbacks, has led to a clear erosion of human rights. Indeed, some EU member states have legalised human rights violations at borders while Greece decided to temporarily suspend asylum altogether this July. International institutions meant to protect refugees, including the UN refugee agency, have been under assault while we see a concerted hollowing out of international rights standards and the gradual death of asylum. Even if the European obsession with borders fails to do what is desired – effective deterrence – it has real and dangerous consequences, for those seeking refuge and for us all. The burning of an effigy of refugees is what happens after a decade of dehumanisation. In the intervening years, many – from the supposed centre to the far right – have implanted a dangerous border fantasy that will continue to divide, hurt and kill. Dr Maurice Stierl is a migration and border researcher at the University of Osnabrück, Germany
The Guardian
22 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Air fryer, slushie maker, food processor, two blenders … is my Ninja kitchen appliance habit out of control?
I have a problem. It has spanned many years, cost me hundreds of pounds and earned the derision – and concern – of friends and family. Don't worry: it isn't anything sordid but it does give me an absurd number of ways to cook chicken or use up a bag of potatoes. My poison is Ninja appliances. Anyone who walks into my tiny kitchen is taken aback by my extensive collection. My prized trio are the Foodi, the Foodi Max Health Grill and Air Fryer and the Creami, which collectively give me the ability to air-fry, grill, sear, roast, pressure-cook, slow-cook, steam or even dehydrate my dinner, and transform a frozen mishmash of protein powder, yoghurt and sweeteners into an ice-cream-like dessert. It doesn't stop there. I also own a Ninja blender, food processor and hand blender. While less flashy, they have survived my unwise attempts to mince a fully intact topside of beef and turn avocado stones into 'detox dust' for an ill-fated 'glow-up' smoothie. I am far from the only person who has been taken in by Ninja fever. Global sales of its products reached almost $2.9bn in 2024, a 38% jump from nearly $2.1bn the year before. With more than 50 Ninja kitchen products available in Britain, the UK is now the second largest market for their maker, the US-based appliance company SharkNinja. It is a remarkable feat considering that a decade ago the brand was nearly unknown in the UK. It was the air fryer that changed that, particularly the two-drawer food crisper, which hit the shops in 2020. Launching at £179.99 in the UK ($179.99 in the US), it was swiftly stocked in high-street big hitters including Argos and John Lewis. It soon took the UK, and the world, by storm. In 2023, John Lewis named the Ninja air fryer as one of its 'products of the decade'. On Amazon, Ninja's products dominate the air-fryer bestsellers charts, holding four of the top five spots in the UK and the US. Ninja's next mega-success was the Creami, which promises to turn a tub filled with ingredients of your choosing into a creamy, cold dessert. It launched in 2021 in the US at $179.99 and soon became a viral hit on social media. By 2022, Ninja claimed it was America's 'No 1 ice-cream maker', based on sales data from market research firm NPD Group. On TikTok, the hashtag '#ninjacreami' has 244m views as people have flocked to the platform to show off their recipes. Strained yoghurt and fruits are common options, but others have opted for more off-piste creations, including a baked bean 'ice-cream'. The Ninja Slushi (£349.99 in the UK, $349.99 in the US), which allows you to make slushies and cocktails at home, is the brand's latest success, selling out 15 times on its release in the US. On the back of that hit, SharkNinja was this year named as one of Time Magazine's top 100 companies, joining the likes of Netflix and Amazon. The brand has also done a remarkable job of getting A-listers to plug its products. Kris Jenner's Instagram featured a sponsored post of her singing the device's praises. David Beckham is a global brand ambassador for Ninja and in one advert showed off some of his own culinary quirks – which included using his Ninja Double Stack air fryer (£229.99) to cook carrots whole, including the green tops, and using the Woodfire outdoor oven (£349.99), which triples up as an oven, pizza oven and BBQ smoker, inside his kitchen. Viewers of the film F1: The Movie, starring Brad Pitt, will see SharkNinja's product placement throughout – from its logo stamped on race cars to Ninja gadgets on show in swanky kitchens. In an interview with Ad Week in March, SharkNinja CEO Mark Barrocas said the company spends much of its $700m advertising budget on social media. Influencers play such a strong role in promoting the Creami, he said: 'We virtually don't invest any more advertising on [it].' The company has also worked hard to get its products in the hands of so-called 'microinfluencers' who have 'great, authentic followings with smaller niche groups'. It is, simply, word of mouth for the social media age. But this kind of business relies on innovation. SharkNinja pours money into research and development, with a budget that rose to $341.3m in 2024, up 37% from 2023. It has a team of more than 1,100 engineers and designers in the UK, US and China, is typically working on 60 products at any one time and launches about 25 new products a year. Some of these are better value than others, according to Natalie Hitchins, head of home products and services at Which? 'Ninja continues to be a popular brand with customers, and when it comes to air fryers, blenders and multicookers, our testing has found that this is mostly well deserved,' she says. 'However, prices can reach more than £300 so it certainly isn't the cheapest. And if you're looking for an ice-cream maker or mini-oven, we've found that there are other brands that perform better and cost less, so it's worth looking elsewhere.' Like me, Rhianne Crozier has a kitchen full of Ninja appliances. Her love of the brand started six years ago. After she moved into her new home with her husband, her parents gave her a Ninja air fryer as housewarming gift. Now she owns more than 10 Ninja gadgets. They include the Creami, Slushi, the Luxe Café coffee machine (£549.99) – a high-end brewer that allows you to make espressos, cold brews and cafe staples such as lattes and cappuccinos – and the Ninja Speedi multicooker (£229.99), a combined steamer and air fryer designed for one-pot meals. In total, she has spent about £2,000 on Ninja products. The 28-year-old content creator, who shows off her dishes on TikTok under the name Home With Rhianne, has two children. 'I've cooked meals in about 15 minutes. It's great when you've got hungry kids,' she says. 'Before I would stay in the kitchen for hours.' She hasn't touched her pans or oven in months. 'It's more convenient to just put it in, close it, take it out. They're easy to clean afterwards too,' she says. But does the success of Ninja tell us something more uncomfortable about how we live today? Pen Vogler, author of Scoff: A History of Food and Class in Britain, says 'these very speedy innovations' are part of a consumer culture where 'there has to be something new constantly'. My personal journey into Ninja-obsession did start with need. When I moved into my small flat, it was unfurnished. After buying something to sleep on (my bed) and something to watch (my TV), money was too tight to deck out my kitchen with pots, pans and baking trays. Instead, I opted for a Ninja Foodi, which set me back just over £100. It allowed me to sear, pressure-cook and air-fry my food without having to buy loads of extra equipment, and it was much quicker than using the oven. I'm not the only person who struggles for space – one study by the University of Reading found that the living space of the average private renter in Britain shrank from 31 sq metres in 1996 to 25 sq metres in 2017; and families are renting increasingly smaller homes as the cost of living soars. Vogler says that in the Victorian era, living space was also very tight, and cooking gadgets were also enormously popular. She points to Charles Dickens, who in his 1841 novel The Old Curiosity Shop described a silver 'temple' with four chambers. In one, an egg was placed and in another, some coffee was poured. Raw steak and water were put in and, after the machine worked its magic, 'breakfast was ready'. It is, says Vogler, 'like a kind of Victorian air fryer'. A lack of living space means people will 'try to use what technology they have available to answer the problems of how to cook. What Ninja is doing now is just a continuation of something that has been happening for centuries. Technology comes along and it finds a solution to our domestic problems.' What started for me as a solution to a space problem soon became something else. I became obsessed with the Ninja brand, eagerly following its social media to see what device it could bring out to tempt me with next. Recently, however, the shine has worn off. While the Slushi has been a sensation, it lacks many things that have previously sold me on the brand. Yes, it allows you to make slushie drinks and cocktails, but there are major setbacks. It takes at least half an hour to produce a drink, lacks that 'I can see myself using this every day' factor and, most importantly, doesn't seem to have many health advantages, as sugar must be used for most drinks to work in the machine. 'Health is becoming a really important part of our cooking technology,' says Vogler. And Ninja's success has certainly played on our worries about ultra-processed foods. 'There's a large element of anxiety around industrial food that is sending people back to try to make it for themselves,' says Vogler, which 'air fryers and kitchen gadgets will do well from. If people are moving back to cooking, they will always want a fast and easy way to do it.' Ninja has adapted to 2020s living, but how have the gadgets changed us? Before the air fryer, there was the microwave. Both have been accused of tarnishing the culinary arts, but Vogler says some of our most beloved dishes were born out of new kitchen technology. For her, the air fryer has an unlikely relative. 'Cast iron ovens first came in about 300 years ago. It was a massive new technology and is also when our era of home-baking took off,' she says. It ushered in some of our favourite dishes, including eccles cakes and baked tarts. Judy Joo, TV chef and owner of the London-based Korean restaurant Seoul Bird, says kitchen gadgets can be 'great', but they have limits. 'Sometimes you just want to cook something the way it was intended,' she says. That includes being able to watch what's going on. With Ninja appliances, particularly the air fryers and multi-cookers, you end up shoving something in a draw or sealing a lid. For Joo, visibility is key. 'You should be able to see food cooking and changing versus something that you say goodbye to and open up the door once it's ready,' she says. 'You lose control of the cooking process.' And, she says, air fryers will never fully replicate something deep-fried, like chicken. 'It's a compromise,' she says. 'You don't get things as crispy. It's crispy-ish, but it's definitely not the same. You could tell the difference 100%.' For her, nothing quite beats the kitchen classics, particularly the satisfaction of 'getting out a regular pot or pan, drizzling oil, hearing the sizzle and cracking an egg'. The humble frying pan is much more versatile than it's given credit for, considering you can 'glaze, simmer and saute' in it, she says. 'You can't deglaze in an air fryer.'
