US tariffs – EU/US Trade Deal Agreed

Background

With continued developments in US trade policy, please see this week’s key updates in our latest round-up on tariffs, global tax and beyond.

The week in summary 

EU – US Trade Deal Agreed 

On Sunday evening, the ongoing trade discussions between the EU and the US ended, with an agreement reached between the two parties. As announced in a joint press conference by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump, the EU will face 15% tariffs on imports into the US.   

Confirming the importance of the deal between two of the world’s biggest trading partners, President Trump stated that “This is the biggest one of them all”. Echoing these sentiments and the work which has gone into these negotiations, Commission President von der Leyen commented that “It was heavy lifting we had to do. But many thanks also for the talks we had many times on the way to our goal — but now we made it.”  

While the full details of the agreement are yet to be published, a statement issued by Commission President von der Leyen on Sunday evening provided further clarity on what was agreed, namely; 

• The 15% tariff will be the top rate for most products (see steel and aluminium below), including; 
  • Cars  
  • Semiconductors (should such tariffs be imposed)  
  • Pharmaceuticals (should such tariffs be imposed) 
• 0% tariffs have been agreed for a number of sectors, including;  
  • Aircraft and component parts  
  • Certain agricultural products  
  • Certain generics  
  • Critical raw materials  
• The 50% tariff for steel and aluminium remains in place for now.  

In a statement released on X on Sunday evening, Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin welcomed the agreement and stated that the deal “brings clarity and predictability to the trading relationship between the EU and US”.   

What Does this Mean for Business  

It is clear that an agreement between the EU and US is a positive and removes the worst outcome of 30% tariffs applying from 1 August. However, this still presents an increase in the tariff rate which is currently in place (10%) and is a significantly worse outcome than the EU originally hoped for in a zero-for-zero tariff deal.   

From an Irish perspective, there are still questions over the possible imposition of future pharmaceutical tariffs and the impact this may have. It is also clear that this may have an impact on trade between the EU and US with increased costs. In his statement on Sunday evening, the Taoiseach recognised this challenge, stating;  

“It (the agreement) does mean that there will now be higher tariffs than there have been and this will have an impact on trade between the EU and US, making it more expensive and more challenging” 

 With further details likely to be published over the coming days, it will be important to monitor and closely analyse the published agreement to understand the full impact on future trade with the US. 

We’re here to help you

Keeping up to date with US trade policies, trade agreements and new and existing tariff reviews which may lead to further tariff measures is crucial to assessing the risk to your supply chain and the impact these tariffs may have. Understanding your product portfolio and the impact that tariffs may have on your imports is an important first step. We are here to support your business with this analysis and navigating these choppy waters.