The European Commission on Thursday proposed removing tariffs on U.S. industrial goods as part of a trade deal that would also reduce American duties on European cars, Reuters reports.
The proposal is the EU’s first step in enacting the framework agreement reached July 27 between President Donald Trump and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The deal called for the EU to accept a broad 15% tariff to avoid a wider trade war. Under the agreement, U.S. tariffs on European cars would drop from 27.5% to 15% beginning Aug. 1, when the EU presented its legislative proposal.
The deal eased tensions between the world’s two largest trading partners, though it remains unbalanced. EU governments, wary of Trump’s threat to impose 30% tariffs on nearly all European imports, have broadly supported the plan. The legislative package includes two measures: one eliminating tariffs on industrial goods while granting preferential access for U.S. seafood and some farm products, and another extending tariff-free treatment of lobsters, which now includes processed lobsters.
