French PM brands Trump trade deal a 'dark day' for Europe
France’s Prime Minister has said Europe had submitted to the US, on a "dark day" for the union, following the signing of a trade deal and amid Donald Trump's ongoing Scotland trip.
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The US-EU trade deal, secured in a ballroom at Trump’s golf resort in Scotland on Sunday, will impose 15% tariffs on almost all European exports to the US including cars, and will also see European exporters to the US face more then triple the average 4.8% tariff now in force.
Negotiations are continuing on steel - which is still facing a 50% tariff - as well as aviation, among other things.
By comparison, a similar deal struck by Trump and Sir Keir Starmer will see tariffs of only 10% placed on British exports.
The US-EU deal is nothing like the zero-zero import and export tariff the EU offered initially, and has sparked frustration from Francois Bayrou, France’s Prime Minister.
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"It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, gathered to affirm their values and defend their interests, resolves to submission," Bayrou posted on X.
Benjamin Haddad, France’s minister for Europe, said the agreement would provide "temporary stability … but it is unbalanced".
Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament, said: "We seem to have gotten worse conditions than the UK.
"That’s not a good starting point and we need to look at the details to understand what we actually get."
In Britain, Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, said there was “no doubt” the difference was down to Brexit.
On the other hand, German chancellor Friedrich Merz quickly hailed the deal, saying it avoided "needless escalation in transatlantic trade relations" and averted a potentially damaging trade war.
Trump and Sir Keir are expected to discuss progress on implementing the UK-US trade deal, hopes for a ceasefire in the Middle East and applying pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine when they meet later today.