U.S. brokers framework for EU trade deal

The United States finalized a fair, reciprocal trade agreement with the European Union, according to a Thursday statement from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The EU opened its $20 trillion market and agreed not to tax any American industrial goods, he said.

This mutually beneficial agreement will put one of the largest global trade and investment relationships on a solid footing, according to a joint U.S.-EU statement released Thursday. The agreement aims to unleash the full economic potential of both sides, while acknowledging American concerns about a trade imbalance, the statement said. The framework will be the first step in a process that will expand and cover more areas in the future, the release added.

What else does the deal include? Beyond industrial goods, many American agricultural goods will also go untaxed, according to the terms of the agreement. American farmers, fishermen, and ranchers will also have unprecedented access to European markets, Lutnick said. EU firms also planned to initiate about $600 billion worth of investments in the United States, while America will provide $750 billion worth of energy to Europe through the remainder of Trump’s term, he noted.

The EU is the only trade partner in the world with an all-inclusive tariff ceiling with the United States, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote Thursday. The United States agreed to limit tariffs on exports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, along with a mutual agreement not to tariff products like aircraft, cork, and generic pharmaceuticals, von der Leyen added.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report on Trump’s July meeting with von der Leyen that yielded a 15% tariff agreement.