BRUSSELS: The European Union and the United States could reach a framework deal on trade this weekend, ending months of uncertainty for European industry, EU officials and diplomats said on Friday (Jul 25).
The deal would likely include a 15 per cent baseline tariff on all EU goods entering the United States and probably a 50 per cent tariff on European steel and aluminium, the officials and diplomats said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed she would meet US President Donald Trump on Sunday in Scotland, writing on X that the two would discuss “transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong” following a “good call” with the president.
US President Donald Trump on Friday said there was a 50-50 chance or perhaps less that the United States would reach a trade agreement with the European Union, adding that Brussels wanted to “make a deal very badly”.
One of the sources said a weekend deal seemed likely as the “agreement is basically in the hands of Trump now.”
“We are close to an agreement and it is possible we will reach it during the weekend,” one senior EU official said.
A source familiar with the negotiations said there was a “good chance” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen would meet Trump in Scotland over the weekend.
A spokesperson for the Commission did not respond to multiple requests for comment on a possible meeting.
Trump will visit his golf course on Scotland’s west coast and is set to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday.
European luxury and auto shares, two of the sectors most exposed to tariffs, rose on Friday, with LVMH and Volkswagen closing up around 4 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.
