Bloomberg: EU may accelerate removal of tariffs on US goods for deal with Trump

The European Union plans to pass legislation by the end of the week that would eliminate all tariffs on industrial goods from the United States. This is a demand from President Donald Trump to reduce tariffs on car exports from Europe.

Bloomberg writes about this, citing its sources.

The European Commission will provide preferential tariff rates for certain types of seafood and agricultural products from the United States.

The EU acknowledges that the agreement with Trump is more beneficial for the United States, but emphasizes that the agreement is necessary for stability and business confidence. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen previously called the agreement “strong, if not perfect”.

The US president has long criticized European technology regulation and antitrust rules against American companies, including Google and Apple.

European cars and auto parts currently face a 27.5% tariff when exported to the US. Although the US and the EU have agreed to reduce tariffs on most European goods to 15%, Trump has said that cars will only be subject to that rate after the EU offers to eliminate other industrial tariffs.

If the EU passes the bill by the end of the month, the 15% rate on European cars will apply from August 1.

According to Bloomberg sources, to speed up the process, the European Commission will skip the usual impact assessment of the draft law.

Trumpʼs tariffs

The US President Donald Trump reported on April 2, 2025, that he would impose tariffs on goods from other countries. The new tariffs will apply to more than 180 countries and territories (not including Russia, North Korea, Cuba, and Belarus, which are already under sanctions). A 10% tariff was imposed on Ukraine.

On April 9, Trump postponed tariffs on all but China, which received the highest tariffs of 145%, while most countries are subject to a base rate of 10%. Then, on April 10, the EU mirrored the imposition of tariffs in response to the US tariffs by 90 days; before that decision, the new tariffs were to take effect on April 15.

On May 23, Trump proposed imposing a 50 percent tariff on EU goods starting June 1. He said negotiations with the bloc had stalled because the EU had proven to be a difficult party in the process. Trump proposed not to impose tariffs if the goods were manufactured or assembled in the United States. On May 26, he postponed the imposition of these tariffs until July 9.

In July, Trump began declaring new tariffs. In particular, Japan and South Korea received a 25% tariff, Laos and Myanmar — 40%, Malaysia and Kazakhstan — 25%, and South Africa — 30%.

At the end of the month, it was reported that the US and the European Union had reached a framework agreement on a trade deal. Trump declared the introduction of a 15% general tariff on imports from the 27 countries of the European Union.

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