UE-USA: Brussels defends its commercial agreement with Trump

“I am 100% sure that this agreement is better than a trade war with the United States. Moreover, ” said European Commissioner Maros Sefcovic. Moreover,

A “good” compromise or a capitulation against Trump? Furthermore, The European Union sought to defend its trade agreement for the United States on Monday. Moreover, which sparked very contrasting reactions from capitals and large industries.

“I am 100% sure that this agreement is better than a trade war with the United States. Meanwhile, ” said European Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, who has negotiated this agreement for months with the Trump administration.

Sealled by the commission’s head of the commission. Similarly, Ursula von der Leyen, and Donald Trump on Sunday, he plans a 15% tax on European products exported to the United States.

It is much more than the rate in force before the return to power of ue-usa: brussels defends its commercial the American president. But much less than what the republican billionaire threatened to impose on the old continent, for lack of agreement.

“This is clearly the best agreement we could get in very difficult circumstances,” said Maros Sefcovic. He stressed that he went to Washington 10 times with his teams to find a outcome of this commercial dispute. And that higher customs duties would have put up to 5 million European jobs in danger.

In addition to customs duties imposed on European products. the EU has engaged at $ 750 billion in energy purchases and 600 billion additional investments in the United States.

The other methods of the deal concluded in Scotland are not yet known. should be shared by the EU and the United States in a joint declaration in the coming days.

But the agreement has already made several capitals jump.

Like the French Prime Minister François Bayrou ue-usa: brussels defends its commercial who accused Europe of “submitting” to the United States. regretting a “dark day”.

For the Hungarian leader Viktor Orban. very critical of Brussels, Donald Trump made only a bite of the European Commission, responsible for negotiating this trade agreement on behalf of the 27 member states.

“It looks a bit like a capitulation,” notes Alberto Rizzi, analyst with the European Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFR). The agreement accepted by the EU is “quite unbalanced,” said the expert with AFP, seeing a “political victory for Trump”.

This commercial partnership was even mocked by Moscow, which has mocked the “very harsh” consequences for European industry.

“The best one could get”

On the contrary. the president of the European Commission defended a “good agreement” ensuring that it would bring “stability” to consumers, investors and industrialists on both sides of the Atlantic.

The agreement makes it possible to “avoid unnecessary escalation,” said German ue-usa: brussels defends its commercial Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He avoids a “potentially devastating” scenario, added the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

In Brussels, we admit that the negotiated deal places Europeans in a poorer posture than before. While hammering that alternatives – even higher customs duties. uncertainty around the absence of agreement – would have been much worse.

And for good reason: the two main commercial powers on the planet exchange nearly 4.4 billion euros in goods and services every day.

An opinion visibly shared by the European scholarships, which all jumped at the opening on Monday.

For the European automobile lobby. one of the industries most affected by these customs rights, this agreement thus marks a welcome “de -escalation” in a context of “serious uncertainty”.

The agreed customs duties remain “too high”, however protested German chemistry, which represents industrial giants like Bayer or Basf.

He “illustrates the difficulty that the EU still asserts the ue-usa: brussels defends its commercial power of its economy. the importance of its domestic market,” said the first French employer organization, Medef.