A harsh criticism. Viktor Orban attacked this on Monday, July 28, in the commercial agreement between the European Union and the United States on customs duties, deeming it ” worse “ that that obtained in May by the United Kingdom, carrying customs duties on British products at 10 %. “It was not Donald Trump who concluded an agreement with Ursula von der Leyen, it was rather Donald Trump who ate Ursula von der Leyen at breakfast”mocked the Hungarian leader on a Facebook live.
After long months of negotiations, the United States and the EU have reached a trade agreement providing for customs duties of 15 % on European exports, except on certain strategic products including aeronautics and agriculture. The White House threatened Europe with 30 % customs duties from August. The announcement of this new consensus was made on Sunday July 27, after a meeting in Scotland between US President Donald Trump and The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. In addition to this increase in customs duties, the European Union notably undertook to acquire for $ 750 billion in American hydrocarbons over three years and to invest $ 600 billion in the United States.
Merz and meloni satisfied with the agreement
If François Bayrou, like Viktor Orban, denounced the unbalanced nature of this new agreement and the increased dependence of Europe towards America, other European leaders have expressed their satisfaction. Thus, for the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, This commitment allows “Avoid unnecessary escalation in transatlantic trade relations”. “We were able to preserve our fundamental interests, even if I wanted more reductions in transatlantic trade”he said in a statement, while the United States is Germany’s first trading partner.
“The agreement between the EU and the United States puts an end to a phase of uncertainty and avoids a trade war. We will examine all the details “wrote the Head of Italian diplomacy, Antonio Tajani, on X. Similar reaction of the government’s chef, Giorgia Meloni, visiting Ethiopia: “I consider as positive that there is an agreement, but as long as I do not see the details, I cannot formulate a better judgment”.
