US Slashes EU Trade Barriers: 10% Baseline Tariff with Sweetheart Deals for Jets & Spirits

The US just dropped a tariff bombshell—offering the EU a 10% baseline rate on goods, with juicy carve-outs for aviation and booze.

Jets and whiskey get VIP treatment while Brussels scrambles to decode the fine print. Because nothing says 'free trade' like cherry-picking industries.

Wall Street shrugs—another day, another deal that'll get arbitraged into oblivion by crypto traders anyway.

EU tries to avoid trade chaos before August 1

Meanwhile, back in Brussels, the European Commission didn’t get any such letter. Not yet. Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s trade chief, said after a private call between Trump and Ursula von der Leyen, the Commission wasn’t expecting one.

But nothing is locked in. Those same officials said this whole thing is still shifting. Even with this offer, any final deal needs Trump’s personal approval. And right now, the US hasn’t promised any special treatment for cars, pharmaceuticals, steel, or aluminum; all of which the EU wanted carved out.

Not everyone in Europe is upset. France, Italy, and Ireland stand to benefit from the exemptions on jets and liquor. Those industries matter more to them than others. But for the rest of the bloc, the terms look one-sided.

Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary, said on Monday after the fact that an executive order WOULD soon make the new August 1 deadline official. But before that statement came out, the EU was still working with the July 8 deadline. They were hoping to lock something in by Wednesday.

Simon Harris, Ireland’s trade minister, confirmed on Monday night that “we can now expect an extension of the current status quo until August 1 to give further time for the EU and the US to reach an agreement in principle.” That buys Brussels three more weeks, but not much certainty.

During a tense meeting on Monday evening, EU diplomats described the atmosphere as “somber.” There were no promises from Washington about avoiding future tariff flip-flops. And no real guarantees that today’s exceptions won’t vanish tomorrow.

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