LONDON — European companies were on edge on Monday as corporate leaders tried to unpick the real impact of a hard-won US trade deal and lamented a sharp jump in tariffs versus those in place before President Donald Trump’s second term.
The trade deal announced on Sunday imposes a 15 percent import tariff on most EU goods. After an initial rally on relief that some sort of deal had been reached, shares of carmakers and alcohol firms fell.
Leading the way lower were BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, along with Pernod Ricard and Anheuser-Busch InBev, all down between 1-2 percent.
The falls reflect how the deal is being seen as lopsided, more a win for US President Donald Trump, as well as ongoing uncertainties about the fine print of the final agreement.
The 15 percent rate is better than the 30 percent once threatened by Trump and will bring clarity for European makers of cars, planes and chemicals, but it’s well above initial hopes of a zero-for-zero agreement and an average rate last year of around 2.5 percent.
“The price is high for both sides. European exports are losing competitiveness. US customers are paying the tariffs,” said Wolfgang Große Entrup, head of the German Chemical Industry Association VCI, adding though that it could have been worse.
“Those who expect a hurricane are grateful for a storm.”
The deal, which also includes $600 billion of EU investments in the United States and $750 billion of EU purchases of US energy over Trump’s second term, includes some exemptions, even if details are still to be ironed out.
For carmakers, the 15 percent tariff is down from more than 25 percent under the global levy imposed by Trump in April. The EU is also cutting its tariff on US-made cars to 2.5 percent, a senior European Commission official involved in the talks said.
