28 July 2025 – In the end, the head of all Brussels EU bureaucrats had to step in herself to reach a deal in Scotland in the tariff dispute with US President Donald Trump, which appears to have been quite expensive for the EU overall. Asian commodity prices stabilise at the close of trading on Monday.
Asian raw material prices stabilise at the close of trading
After a slight setback at the start of the week, raw material prices in Asia had already stabilised again by the close of trading. We therefore do not expect any further significant reduction in raw material prices for the time being. The deal between the European Union and the United States reached over the weekend, even if it has cost the EU dearly, should now provide more stability in the markets overall and support demand.
EU-US tariff dispute: An expensive deal for the European Union
In the end, the chief of all Brussels EU bureaucrats had to step in herself to reach a deal in Scotland in the customs dispute with US President Donald Trump. Otherwise, it would probably have cost not only her trade commissioner his job, who had tried hard* in recent months but still failed to reach an acceptable and balanced deal in the trade dispute with the United States, but also Ursula von der Leyen herself.
*(A job reference would say: You always tried hard to meet the requirements!)
The EU was unable to achieve more than damage control
However, the agreement now reached on 15% tariffs on almost all European exports (reportedly including automobiles, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors) to the United States has cost the EU dearly. Not only did it have to grant 0% tariffs on US exports to the EU, but it also had to pledge USD 1.4 trillion in energy imports from and investments in the US market. As we had already expected, no agreement could be reached on the 50% increase in steel and aluminium tariffs.
EU can only claim a 5 percentage point tariff reduction
All in all, this is a rather expensive compromise, as the EU was only able to negotiate a reduction of 5 percentage points on the originally threatened reciprocal tariffs of 20% from April 2025. After months of negotiations and a threat by Donald Trump to increase tariffs to 30% from 11 July 2025, the EU was forced to give in to the demands of the US government.
UK remains benchmark in customs conflict
Overall, the United Kingdom remains the benchmark among the negotiated solutions in the customs conflict with the United States and was able to secure a significantly better deal with only 10% tariffs right from the start. This shows how approaching the US administration can pay off, rather than indulging in arrogant Brussels pettiness.
It is to be hoped that the costs for the agreed energy imports will not be significantly higher than usual market prices (and we are already familiar with the Commission’s lack of negotiating skills when it comes to prices from the coronavirus pandemic). Otherwise, not even that could be considered a possible success for the Commission. The fact that the amount of the agreed energy imports is not mentioned and the investments in the United States are completely concealed in the press release of the European Commission shows that the details are not public-friendly enough and could further destabilise von der Leyen’s already shaky leadership.
Latest news
- Possible EU-US trade deal without steel and aluminum?
- EU steel scrap exports are now officially monitored
- New US trade deals: EU increasingly sidelined in negotiations
We at the Gerber Group have been trading in stainless steel worldwide for over 20 years. We are your experts when it comes to purchasing, import, logistics and services. Information is a vital part of this. Because only then can you and we make the right decisions. Do you have any questions? Contact us now.
Disclaimer: Many things here represent our opinion. Others are information from the Internet. We can therefore never claim to be correct or complete. And never base a business decision solely on the news you receive from us.
