What Is New US and EU Tariff Deal About?

Raise the stakes to the maximum, then lower them to say to the loser that they’ve won. What does the new tariff deal between the US and the EU entail?

You could describe it as dividing the orange — and the US getting the biggest piece. This can characterize Washington and Brussels’ trade agreement. It resulted from a meeting between von der Leyen and Trump in Scotland. Calling it mutually beneficial is difficult. For Europe's crisis-ridden economy, it’s yet another serious blow.

Maxim Chirkov, Associate Professor at the State University of Management (Russia):

"I believe the agreements made are extremely unfavorable for Europe. The expenses of European countries will grow catastrophically. The level of spending by 2025 was already very painful, as Europeans were running out of money already at the beginning of 2025."

Europeans are also required to immediately invest $600 billion into the American economy — funds that do not exist. Politico reports that "the investments promised by the US under the trade deal will come from private companies, which Brussels has no control over." But that’s not all. European buyers are instructed to purchase energy resources and weapons from the US totaling $750 billion.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission:

"Purchases of energy resources in the US diversify our supply sources and will contribute to Europe's energy security. We will replace Russian gas and oil with significant imports of US LNG, oil, and nuclear fuel."

Replacing Russian oil and gas with American LNG and nuclear fuel will negatively impact Europeans’ well-being.

Yevgeny Semibratov, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts at RUDN University:

"It’s important to distinguish. Is this deal profitable for Trump? Of course, it is. The market is cleared, weapons are being sold, and European companies are paying tariffs. Victory? Victory. As for Europe, I suggest separating the European bureaucracy, ultra-globalists, and, let’s say, nationalist parties and ordinary people. For ultra-globalists and the European bureaucracy — using Trump’s term 'deep state' — this is also a victory because they’ve agreed with America, and this deal is being presented as very important and great. They got the weapons they wanted from Trump, and they received visible loyalty from him. So, everything is fine for them. But the main losers are the national interests of European countries, expressed by ordinary voters, pensioners, workers, and sensible politicians."

Donald Trump "dismantled" Europe and is very consistent in promoting US economic interests, said Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council. European bureaucrats are also poorly at pretending that "everything is fine."

From the European side of the Atlantic, the agreement is viewed negatively. Emmanuel Macron stated that the terms reflect Europe's insufficient negotiating strength. Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s National Rally, called the deal a "disaster for Europe," and the Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic labeled it "a dark day." The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán offered an honest reaction:

"Donald Trump simply ate Ursula von der Leyen for breakfast. He imposed this decision on her. Which doesn’t surprise us because Americans are heavyweights in negotiations, while Europeans are more lightweight. Moreover, the US positions are much more stable, and the European Commission’s positions are always more fragile."

Bloomberg estimates that the US-EU agreement will cause losses of $2 trillion to the global economy by 2027. Experts agree that this deal may backfire on Europe in the future.