President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Sunday that the US and EU had agreed to the framework of a trade deal that included a baseline tariff rate of 15% on EU goods imported into the US.
Trump, , speaking after negotiations in Scotland on Sunday, called the deal “the biggest of them all,” while von der Leyen said that "15% is not to be underestimated, but it is the best we could get." Other details of the framework are still being confirmed.
Meanwhile, the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper, reported that "Beijing and Washington are expected to extend their tariff truce by another three months at trade talks in Stockholm beginning on Monday."
On Friday, Trump said that letters dictating tariff rates for over 200 countries would go out soon while his administration works to clinch deals with larger trade partners. Trump said the US hasn't had a "lot of luck" with Canada and suggested he may impose threatened 35% levies on goods not covered by the US-Canada-Mexico trade agreement.
Last week, President Trump touted a deal with Japan that included a $550 billion investment in the US and a 15% tariff on goods imported into the US from Japan. On Saturday, Japanese trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa suggested the money could be used to help finance an unnamed Taiwanese chipmaker building plants in the US.
"For example, if a Taiwanese chipmaker builds a plant in the US and uses Japanese components or tailors its products to meet Japanese needs, that's fine too," he said.
In March, Taiwan's TSMC announced a $100 billion investment in the US, on top of plans to build three plants in Arizona, one of which is already operating.
In any case, the Japan trade deal may have set a precedent for Trump's new baseline tariff rate. Trump said tariffs would range from 15% to 50%, with tougher partners facing higher rates. That's a step up from the 10% baseline duties currently in effect..