Amid Donald Trump’s trade offensive, the EU began its path to capitulation on April 10th, suspending its retaliatory tariffs and agreeing to U.S.-led talks under pressure, facing 10% tariffs on most of its trade plus higher duties on steel, aluminum, and vehicles. Unlike Canada and China, which responded with immediate retaliation, the EU, constrained by differing member state opinions, opted for compromise to negotiate a better outcome.
Andy Bounds, Henry Foy, and Ben Hall for Financial Times:
Under the framework deal struck by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Trump at his Turnberry golf resort on Sunday, the EU has swallowed a broad-based “baseline” US tariff of 15 per cent, including crucially for cars, but not for steel, which will be subject to a quota system.
Relief among policymakers about avoiding an immediate transatlantic trade war was tinged with regret: could the EU, the world’s largest trading bloc and supposedly an economic heavyweight, have extracted better terms had it not pulled its punches early on?
Trump views the EU as a parasite, feeding off the lucrative American market while closing its own through regulation and standards. The US president has said the union was “formed to screw the US” and “nastier than China”.
Germany, France and a few others pushed for the commission to consult on using its new “trade bazooka”, the anti-coercion instrument. Designed after Trump’s first term to counter trade policy being used to pressure governments over other matters, it would allow Brussels to bar US companies from public tenders, revoke intellectual property protection and restrict imports and exports.
However, it was not clear a majority of member states agreed with the threatening move, diplomats said… While EU technocrats were boxing under Queensberry rules, Trump was in a New York street fight…
There was also concern that a more confrontational stance towards Washington could spill over into other areas. Europe’s dependency on America’s security guarantee was a further argument against trade confrontation, especially for the bloc’s eastern and northern members.
A further priority for the commission president was to preserve the EU’s right to regulate. The US tech industry has pushed hard for Trump to pressure the EU to weaken laws regulating online speech and data management. They also opposed national digital taxes. So far von der Leyen has refused to compromise on those issues.
MacDailyNews Take: After all, regulation plus taxation is the lifeblood of the EU vampire. Of course, any national digital taxes and EU laws regulating online speech and data management directly impact Apple.
After Trump rebuffed the deal hatched by his own officials, the commission’s negotiating team concluded they had no option but to accept a US tariff of 15 per cent. They pitched the number to member state ambassadors this week…
There is no hiding the fact the EU was rolled over by the Trump juggernaut, said one ambassador. “Trump worked out exactly where our pain threshold is.”
MacDailyNews Take: This lopsided US-EU trade deal always was a fait accompli.
The worst thing you can possibly do in a deal is seem desperate to make it. That makes the other guy smell blood, and then you’re dead. The best thing you can do is deal from strength, and leverage is the biggest strength you can have. Leverage is having something the other guy wants. Or better yet, needs. Or best of all, simply can’t do without. – Donald Trump, The Art of the Deal, 1987
As we wrote back in April:
The United States of America is the far and away No.1 economy on this planet, with nominal GDP of $30.34 trillion. China is a distant number two with $19.53 trillion, followed by Germany ($4.92T), Japan ($4.39T), and India ($4.27T).
If countries want unfettered access to sell their goods and services into the world’s preeminent economy, they should, at the very least, provide unfettered American access into their far lesser economies. (In pure business terms, they should actually pay for the privilege of selling in America’s rich environment).
Any country that wants to try to forgo America by keeping or increasing their import tariffs, have at it. They’ll be begging for access sooner than later.
Anyone who thinks Americans can’t make or get whatever they want/need without importing it from any other country, failed history 101.
In 2024, the EU’s nominal GDP was reported by the World Bank to be $19.423 trillion; China-sized, but still dwarfed by the American economy.
As we wrote in May:
Here is a list of the top 5 consumer markets by country, based on household final consumption expenditure (HFCE) in U.S. dollar value (consumer spending):
1. United States: ~$18.8 trillion
2. China: ~$7.0 trillion
3. Japan: ~$2.5 trillion
4. Germany: ~$2.3 trillion
5. India: ~$2.2 trillionAdd up the 2nd – 5th consumer markets on earth and they still total $4.4 trillion less than the U.S.
Annualized estimates based on quarterly figures suggest the EU’s total HFCE for 2024 is roughly $10 trillion, though exact annual figures are not yet finalized.
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Your politicking is wearing thin….this is meant to be a Mac site, not a gloating page for Americans
The EU bloc accounts for an estimated 7% of Apple’s total annual revenue, equating to about $27.37 billion in fiscal year 2024.
This article is about an issue that DIRECTLY affects Apple and AAPL shareholders. Clearly, you just can’t handle the truth.
Are you trapped in the EU yourself? Or, given your English phrasing, stuck in the UK ( if so, at least you’re no longer pinned in the EU, too)?
MAGA! 🇺🇸
More than 50% of Brits wish we were back in the EU…As for handling the truth, i can absolutely handle the truth. Unfortunately very little of what POTUS says bears any resemblance to the truth… the concept of “Truth” is not something he is familiar with
HA! HA! HA!
As usual, Professor “First, Then” runs rings around the mental inferiors here and politely schools them in reality.
“Hugh” must yield “Yugely” and looks the fool…. more please!!
Now, criticize me again for upvoting my own post; I do it to watch your pitiful reflexive foolishness! 🤣 🎯 🏆
Yeah, sure…Starmer is a real leader and no one is preventing the Country from losing its sovereignty. The Mayor of L doesn’t give a flying-f about most of the citizenry. Some in the Country had the wisdom to disengage from the failing EU, but it’s appearing to be all for naught.
I agree that the politicking by MDN is un-necessary and reduces their credibility. THAT SAID, I do get something of value out of this post and didn’t find it that offensive. Specifically this statement by MDN continues to ring true to me and is applicable to Apple (even if I don’t like to hear it):
“If countries want unfettered access to sell their goods and services into the world’s preeminent economy, they should, at the very least, provide unfettered American access into their far lesser economies. (In pure business terms, they should actually pay for the privilege of selling in America’s rich environment).”
I’m not rooting against Bessent and the others negotiating the trade deals for the US. It may be ugly and ruthless, at times, and it may even be selfish and too nationalistic, but we should have reciprocal access to others economies. The threat of China needs to be aggressively addressed. China has been aggressively been placing stakes in the ground all over the world. Using our economic power has always been our ace in the hole.
Exactly sadly been following this site since the 80s and its quality has declined to something of a landslide as its arrogance, extremism, nationalist fervour and hubris has done so in the opposite direction. How deluded do you have to be to think the US can make everything it needs within its own borders. Rare earth magnets/materials almost nil presently, one new mine being financed. Tungsten, almost exclusively from Canada. Apple which is supposed to be the subject of this site, or was once itself cannot possibly survive if it manufactured in the US, the chips it uses (and Trump boasts so ignorantly about bringing back to the US) are overwhelmingly IP and materially from non US sources even though the US loves to absorb others technology, innovation and IP through any means it can since WW2. Indeed it was mostly others technology and ideas that it exploited post war to make America Great though Trump seems convinced it was the 1890s when the Robber Barons dominated and tariffs were damaging the economy and keeping the population poor. Blackmail may work for a while, but the World has seen abiding by this US constructed post war World Globalist economy that made the US rich off of the rest of us has to be escaped from, let’s see how things go with China who are far more powerful a position than the EU and despite Lubnick’s and Trumps lies about a collapsing economy posted growth twice that of the US. We will Alli see how these policies go into the future making enemies everywhere and exploiting poor Countries, as US power along with its ability to blackmail and threaten competitors and as the dictatorship of the dollar declines. I just hope Apple survives this, though my love for the Company has long declined sadly, I have historical love that’s difficult to eradicate entirely. MDN however the sooner gone the better my love of this site is long gone. So along with your mate in the White House all I can say is go to Hell on the bed of your own making. Jobs will be turning in his grave to see what this site and indeed the US is becoming.
And he keeps on visiting and when here, voices concerns that have more to do with Trump-animus than Apple…but sees no contradiction. Spy machine needs tuning.
You’re welcome.
MAGA! 🇺🇸
“EU has swallowed a broad-based “baseline” US tariff of 15 per cent, including crucially for cars, but not for steel, which will be subject to a quota system.”
Great, but it’s not the EU paying, it’s US importers and consumers. EU products will get up to 13.8% more expensive – including the additional higher amount of trader margins and sales taxes as they are calculated based on the higher import price.
If those importing EU products into the U.S. raise their prices, they will lose to competitors who produce in America.
Americans are not forced to buy stuff made in the EU.
MAGA. 🇺🇸
If people want proper UE goods, they will need to purchase proper EU goods, otherwise they will be fake American equivalents. Champagne is only made in France, French Bordeaux is only produced in Bordeaux… As such they will likely have to pay 15% more for those goods…
Europeans don’t want American vehicles, they make better cars.
Americans will now pay more for their bmw’s.
The eu does not have control over military spending of its member states.
The oil the usa is selling is from Canada.
The deal with the eu is a farce and the eu knows that but just to keep the man child happy they signed a fake deal, so the child has something to celebrate in front of the cameras.
A fake president can only make fake deals!
In other words, American companies will not have to compete as hard against European counterparts, and American consumers will have less choice.
The other problem is that many US businesses are reliant on EU (and other foreign sources) components for their products. The world supply chain is insanely integrated at this point. Putting significant tariffs on foreign products is cutting off your nose to spite your face. Over the long haul, tariffs are not good for US business.
Tariffs are protectionism and almost always lead to crony capitalism. When tariffs are on the table, every business tries to get a leg up on their competition by getting their politician buddies to enact tariffs, instead of producing a more competitive product.
Those Europussies didn’t have a problem putting tariffs and other barriers on US goods.
Last year under Biden:
• The EU had a 10% tariff on U.S.-made passenger vehicles with internal combustion engines, significantly higher than the U.S.’s 2.5% tariff on EU vehicles.
• U.S. ethanol exports faced a 19% tariff in the EU.
• EU had 25% tariffs on U.S. steel, aluminum, and other goods like almonds, orange juice, poultry, soybeans, tobacco, motorcycles, and yachts.
• Certain U.S. food products, like beef, faced tariffs unless they met EU safety standards, which often excluded U.S. products due to differences in regulations
The US didn’t start the trade war; we just joined it.
This.
Trump getting rid of the EU tariffs on US goods is OUTSTANDING.
Trump imposing a 15% tariffs on EU imports to the USA, not so much.
People say, “just buy American,” but that is almost impossible in the modern supply chain system. Not only do many Americans rely on European goods, many American businesses rely on EU components.
Tariff = Tax
In the long run, tariffs always raise prices and/or limit consumer choice.
It’s a wonder people don’t understand that a tariff imposed on incoming goods IS a tax on the citizens of the U.S. Think about this, who collects the funds from a tariff? The government imposing it. The importing company located in the U.S has to pay more to bring in a product which may be something not easily produced domestically. The exporting company is inconvenienced by possibly not selling as much due to purchase reluctance based on increased cost to the importer. If the exporter is already on thin margins, it is more likely rather than taking a loss they go about looking for another market to sell. If the importer still decides to purchase the same amount either they eat the cost (less profit for the domestic company) or increase the price for the imported goods (higher price for U.S. consumers). In the end the government gets funds via tariff from a domestic party (importer or consumer). Normally when a government makes financial gains on commerce it’s a tax IMO.
Exactly, it’s a tax on US consumers but many will never get its their tax increase while the other tax cuts go almost exclusively to the super rich who are of course busily investing in ai to remove those poor bastards jobs. Geez MDN even quoted the Art of the Deal, though I note they excluded the bit about casinos, in particular the one his dad illegally kept solvent by dropping 3 mill in chips on the tables to stop it going bankrupt literally the next day, but hey ho despite all that support still failed and was blown up a while later. I guess the only art in that deal was ‘The Scream’. Hopefully the Emperors clothes will fall one day in their eyes but not from the lackeys at MDN any time soon I fear.
they played trump and trump is playing you.
there are no written agreements.
they found they would follow the Japanese model and let trump make up whatever lie he wants. after all the Americans are paying the tariff tax.
That’s quite the delusional pipe dream you’re having. This is a done deal. The EU cannot back out now.
The US-EU trade agreement announced on July 27, 2025, is, of course, not yet fully finalized. It is a “framework” agreement, meaning key terms have been agreed upon, but technical details and legal instruments still need to be worked out.
The agreement includes a 15% tariff on most EU exports to the US, $750 billion in EU purchases of US energy through 2028, and $600 billion in EU investments in the US, among other provisions.
If those importing EU products into the U.S. raise their prices, they will lose to competitors who produce in America. No American is forced to buy an EU import.
President Trump is expected to sign executive orders to implement the 15% tariff rate immediately. However, for the bloated EU bureaucracy, the agreement requires approval by all 27 vassal states, and the creation of a legal instrument or international agreement to bring it into force is expected to take the EU weeks to accomplish what President Trump will do with the stroke of his Sharpie.
MAGA. 🇺🇸
not happening
@First Then. You do understand that the importer is a business within the U.S. that is being taxed and may pass on costs to the consumer. If they don’t profit and fail, that just means a U.S. business has had to lay off employees and increase the unemployment rate.
It’s very clear that none of the MAGA commenters has ever been to business school.
It’s very clear that none of the MAGA commenters has any understanding of how the EU works.
It’s very clear that none of the MAGA commenters will ever get a clou
Obviously!
This needs to be ratified by ALL EU countries and that’s no easy task. As such it is not an agreement, it is a framework for an agreement. If it gets signed then it is an agreement.
Similarly President Trump predicted that the US would be able to export heaps of cars to Japan except the Japanese don’t drive huge American cars because their roads aren’t built for them.
Due prior commitments I still haven’t had time to read the fine print of the “deal” but I have learnt that what the President says is a lot different what is actually agreed to and what actually happens. It has something to do with a grain of salt.
No agreement or ratification is required for the US to start collecting the 15% tariff.
The US is already making money.
wrong
But if the framework isn’t agreed to then you have a trade war and where does that leave the US…inflation from even higher tariffs and falling sales.
Let’s see how it works with Australia.
The US has a trade surplus and the two countries have a trade agreement.
The US levies a ten percent tariff on Australia. Why? Because they can push around a smaller country.
You know what the end result is? Between 68 and 72 percent of Australia hate Trump and no longer trust America because they act like a bully. So much for being an ally of the US.
Everything decision has consequences. Some of them are good and some are really bad. We won’t forget Donald Trump and we won’t forget how we’ve been treated and this will also be the case throughout the rest of world.
True, but the U.S. is making money off the backs of it’s own citizens, not any foreign entity. I could possibly feel better about tariffs if all Federal personal income tax was abolished as the consumer is being taxed through consumption indirectly via tariffs.
B..it!
… Meanwhile, governments continue to try to get rid of as many US treasury bonds as possible… For the United States, the consequences of Trump’s shenanigans are likely to be a painful stew.
Experts Say Foreign Governments Are ‘Playing Trump’ on Tariffs
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/experts-say-foreign-governments-are-playing-trump-on-tariffs