Just finished talking and started to bicker! The US and Europe have differing views on the details of the tariff agreement

There are significant differences between the US and Europe on key trade agreement details, with pharmaceutical tariffs becoming the main obstacle in negotiations.

According to Xinhua News Agency, US President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen jointly announced on the 27th at the Turnberry Golf Course in South Ayrshire, Scotland, that the US and Europe have reached a new trade agreement. After an informal meeting with von der Leyen, Trump revealed some details of the new agreement, including that the US will impose a 15% tariff on products imported from the EU, and the EU will increase investment in the US by $600 billion and purchase $750 billion worth of US energy, among other things.

According to media reports, although the US and Europe have reached a preliminary consensus on the 15% tariff rate, there are inconsistencies in the wording in several areas, including pharmaceuticals and steel and aluminum.

After the talks on Sunday, Trump stated that the agreement does not include pharmaceutical products, implying that this sector may face higher tariffs, while von der Leyen clearly stated that "the EU agrees to a 15% tariff on pharmaceutical products." US senior officials later clarified that both sides indeed reached a consensus on a 15% tariff level for EU pharmaceutical exports, but the US will still initiate a so-called Section 232 investigation into the pharmaceutical sector in the next three weeks.

On the issue of steel and aluminum tariffs, Trump insisted that the 50% tax rate "remains unchanged," while von der Leyen stated that "tariffs will be reduced, and a quota system will be introduced." US officials later confirmed to the media that the agreement does not cover EU steel and aluminum exports, which will continue to be subject to the 50% tariff.

Lack of Specific Details in the Agreement Framework

After the agreement was reached, von der Leyen stated that the agreement provides certainty and stability for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic. However, compared to trade agreements that typically require years of negotiation and thousands of pages of text, this preliminary agreement reached by the US and Europe seems overly brief.

According to an assessment by Carsten Nickel, Deputy Director of Research at Teneo:

"The focus will now shift to the risks of interpretation and implementation, which involve a mix of political and technical issues. Given the nature of the agreement, significant uncertainty may persist."

The US has initiated an investigation to assess whether imports of certain products, such as aerospace and semiconductors, pose a threat to national security, which may lead to additional tariffs on certain industries. According to media reports citing US senior officials, aerospace tariffs will remain at 0%, but the results of the Section 232 investigation are still pending.