Trump, Heading to Scotland, Says 50/50 Chance to Reach Deal With EU
President Donald Trump, speaking with reporters July 25 before boarding a flight to Scotland, downplayed the possibility of reaching an agreement to impose lower than his threatened 30% tariff on EU exports.
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"I would say we have a 50/50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50/50 chance of a deal with the EU. And it'll be a deal where they'll have to buy down their tariff, because right now, they're at 30%, and they'll have to buy it down -- maybe," he said.
However, Trump said he would have given the chance of reaching a deal with Japan just 25% ahead of sealing that deal.
Trump, who will be golfing at one of the two courses he owns in Scotland, also is going to meet with French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron during the weekend trip. France is one of the two largest economies in the EU. After he left, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted, "Following a good call with @POTUS, we have agreed to meet in Scotland on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong."
Trump also will meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The U.S. and the U.K. already have reached a trade agreement, and so far, the U.K. is the only country that will have only the current 10% reciprocal tariffs continue to apply. However, Starmer is under pressure to reach a détente on steel trade, so that U.K. steel can avoid the 50% national security tariff Trump doubled earlier this year.