The new rate will kick in once the bloc introduces legislation to reduce its own duties on American goods.
France, Italy and other wine-making countries had pushed hard to win a zero tariff exemption for alcohol. (EPA Images pic)
BRUSSELS: European car and pharmaceutical exports to the US will be subjected to a 15% tariff rate, a joint US-EU statement detailing their trade deal showed today.
The same rate will apply to wine and spirits, after Brussels failed to secure an exemption for its cherished industry, the European Commission said.
“This is a serious, strategic deal – and we are fully behind it. A wide range of sectors, including strategic industries such as cars, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and lumber, stand to benefit,” said the EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic.
Brussels and Washington clinched a framework accord in July for most EU exports to face a 15% US levy.
But details remained unclear, with negotiations continuing for weeks as the EU sought to win carve-outs for some sectors and US President Donald Trump threatened higher tariffs on others.
The statement published today brought some clarity, although some moving parts remain.
Under the deal a “clear maximum, all-inclusive” tariff rate of 15% will apply to the vast majority of EU exports, the commission said.
Sefcovic said he was confident that the rate for cars, which is lower than the current 27.5%, will apply retroactively from Aug 1, having received assurances on the matter from his American counterpart.
But the new rate will kick in only once the EU introduces legislation to reduce its own tariffs on US products, something Sefcovic said the commission was “working very hard” on.
France, Italy and other wine-making countries had pushed hard to win a zero tariff exemption for alcohol including champagne, wines and spirits, but Sefcovic said EU efforts “didn’t succeed”.
He added that negotiations would continue, saying: “These doors are not closed forever”.
A special more favourable regime will apply as of Sept 1 to a number of products including “unavailable natural resources” such as cork, all aircraft and aircraft parts and generic pharmaceuticals, the commission said.
“This is not the end of the process, we continue to engage with the US to agree more tariff reductions, to identify more areas of cooperation, and to create more economic growth potential,” said commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
