The story stutters. The Europeans once again see themselves threatened with a tariff escalation by their American partner. On the evening of July 24, on his Truth Social network and as usual, with a lot of capital letters, the President of the United States accused the European Union (EU) of ” fly “ businesses
American. Donald Trump clearly did not digest the fine of 890 million euros that Brussels had imposed on Google the day before for its anti-competitive practices.
“The European Union will pay a very high price for this illegal behavior”writes the Republican president, announcing the launch of an investigation which will make it possible to justify customs duties “substantial as quickly as possible”. This risks spoiling the anniversary of the transatlantic deal concluded on the Republican billionaire’s Scottish golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, in 2025.
During this negotiation, the EU committed to removing its customs duties on the majority of American goods in exchange for taxes capped at 15% for European products entering the United States. Despite the glaring imbalance, Brussels preferred to emphasize the promise of predictability offered by the agreement. In mid-July, the European Commissioner for Trade, Maros Sefcovic, welcomed yet another “assessment (…) placed under the sign of stability and constructive cooperation”.
Even the imposition of new customs duties on July 23 – replacing a provisional regime put in place after the Supreme Court had overturned the legal basis of previous taxes – was welcomed “positively” Friday by the European Commission. They “are compliant” to the Turnberry agreement, noted a spokesperson. Capped at 10% for Europe, they are lower than the maximum of 15% set a year ago. And, unlike the previous regime, this 10% is no longer added to other taxes. “It’s much better for the EU”declared the European Parliament’s negotiator on the implementation of the agreement, Bernd Lange.
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