The United States has confirmed it “intfinishs” to build sure any future tariffs on pharmaceutical and semiconductor imports from the European Union (EU) would be capped at 15 per cent, in a much-anticipated joint statement on the tariff deal agreed between the two sides.
The statement publicly firms up the details of the EU-US deal on tariffs struck by United States president Donald Trump and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at the finish of last month.
The statement will come as some relief to the Government and the large pharmaceutical sector in the Republic, which to date had been relying on word from the EU side, that the deal capped future US tariffs on pharma at a 15 per cent rate.
The deal saw European countries head off Mr Trump’s threats of cripplingly high import taxes on trade, by agreeing to stomach 15 per cent levies on products sold across the Atlantic.
Higher tariffs on EU-created cars will be brought down to that blanket 15 per cent as part of the deal.
EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic, who was heavily involved in the talks, described the agreement as “the most favourable trade deal the US has extfinished to any partner”.
Mr Trump has applyd tariffs to upfinish global trading relations and extract concessions from US partners in a series of deals.
The US president set a blanket 10 per cent import levy on EU goods as part of his “liberation day” agfinisha in April, and threatened the 27-state union with much higher rates of 20 to 50 per cent if a trade agreement was not struck by August.
The commission, the executive arm that neobtainediated for the EU, has stated the tariff deal was necessary to avoid a destabilising trade war between the two economic powers.
A joint EU-US statement on the deal, published on Thursday, noted aircraft and aircraft parts, generic pharmaceuticals and cork would be exempt from tariffs.
EU neobtainediations have been pushing for its exports of spirits, including whiskey and wines, to also avoid the blanket 15 per cent tariffs.
The joint statement stated the two sides agreed “to consider other sectors and products” that might be subject to lower tariff rates that applied before Mr Trump’s return to office.
Speaking on Thursday in Brussels, Mr Sefcovic stated the agreement had “locked in” significant exemptions and work would continue to push for more products to escape the 15 per cent tariff rate.
The statement stated the EU had agreed to “substantially” increase the amount of military equipment and weapons it bought from the US.
The EU stated it “intfinishs to procure” $750 billion worth of US liquefied natural gas, oil, and nuclear energy over the coming years to 2028.
The statement stated the EU intfinishs to purchase “at least $40 billion worth of US AI chips for its computing centres”.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris stated the deal was a “first step to neobtainediate a more comprehensive and formal agreement” with the US.
“Our intention now is to see what other carve outs can be created in areas of interest for Irish exporters,” he stated.
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