'This is the biggest deal': Trump announces US-EU trade deal with tariff rate set at 15%

Donald Trump has announced that a trade deal has been struck between the US and the EU following a private meeting between the US president and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The President of the European Commission confirmed there would be tariffs of 15% on goods from Europe across the board, lower than the rate of 30% previously threatened by the US.

The agreement will include “zero for zero” tariffs on a number of products including aircraft, some agricultural goods and certain chemicals, as well as EU purchases of US energy worth 750 billion dollars (£558 billion) over three years.

"We have reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody," Mr Trump said.

"The European Union is going to agree to purchase from the United States 750 billion dollars worth of energy," he said.

"They are going to agree to invest into the United States 600 billion more than they're investing already."

Ursula von der Leyen said the agreement was a "huge deal" made following "tough negotiations."

Ms von der Leyen said: “Today’s deal creates certainty in uncertain times, it delivers stability and predictability for citizens on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Speaking to journalists afterwards, she acknowledged there was “tension” at the beginning of her meeting with the US President but said “in the end, as we were successful, it’s good and it’s satisfactory.”

The US president said Sir Keir Starmer would be "very happy" with the deal.

Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin welcomed the “clarity” the agreement brought to the transatlantic trade relationship and said the implications for exports from Ireland would be studied in the coming days.

“That is good for businesses, investors and consumers. It will help protect many jobs in Ireland,” he said.

“The negotiations to get us to this point have been long and complex, and I would like to thank both teams for their patient work.“

"We will now study the detail of what has been agreed, including its implications for businesses exporting from Ireland to the US, and for different sectors operating here.”

A trade agreement between the US and the EU would be "bigger than any other deal", Donald Trump said before the meeting.

"This is the biggest deal. People don't realise. This is bigger than other deals," he said to journalists gathered in Scotland at the top of his bilateral meeting with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"We have great countries, great countries, I'm familiar with many of them, so are you, and this is really the biggest deal."

"I guess we're the biggest out there, and they're the second, and when we come together, this will be the biggest deal, if that happens, and it could happen, should happen."

The two leaders met at the US President’s Turnberry golf resort in Ayrshire on Sunday to hammer out the broad terms of the agreement, the detail of which is due to be fleshed out in the coming weeks.

Before their bilateral talks, which lasted around an hour, Mr Trump had said there was a “50-50” chance of the deal being reached as a number of the sticking points remained.

The agreement reached on Sunday evening looks to have averted the prospect of transatlantic trade war amid concerns that US tariff rates could damage the world economy.

However, uncertainty remains over American levies on steel, which Mr Trump has suggested remains subject to a global rate of 50%.

Ms von der Leyen said the steel sector would go back to “historical quotas” like in the UK-US deal, with “ring-fencing” to deal with global overcapacity.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will meet the US President for bilateral talks at Turnberry on Monday, with Britain’s trade agreement with Washington expected to be a key focus.

The pact signed at the G7 summit last month left tariffs on UK steel at 25% rather than falling to zero as originally agreed.