After trade agreement between the EU and US, the question is: who pays the bill?

This article was last updated on July 29, 2025

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After trade agreement between the EU and US, the question is: who pays the bill?

After months of negotiations, the United States and the European Union are out: there is one for the time being trade agreement About the import duties that must be paid. Last night, US President Trump and chairman of the European Commission von der Leyen shake hands. Five questions about what this agreement will mean.

What exactly was agreed?

The details of the agreement have not yet been worked out, so for the time being we only know the main lines. It states that there will be 15 percent tax on goods that are shipped from the European Union to the US. A levy of 10 percent has already been applied since April. So 5 percent are added to all products that come from the EU, with a few exceptions for the time being.

Such as products from the pharmaceutical industry, for example medicines. It is not yet known whether there will be taxes, and if so, how high they will be. This also applies to machines that make computer chips, something that the Dutch ASML is a major player.

There is one sector that suffers from an even higher rate: since June, American companies have to do that European steel and aluminum bring in 50 percent extra tax on this. They should already do that and that is not going to change. The United Kingdom previously concluded a deal with Trump in which steel was spared.

“I think it’s a bad deal,” says Theo Henrar, chairman of the industry industry. “Mr. Trump behaves like a bully on a schoolyard. You should never admit that.” It is not yet certain when the trade agreement starts, but it is assumed that this is this Friday, August 1.

The advantages and disadvantages of import duties

Who pays the bill?

“Great loser is the American consumer and the business community, who will pay for this,” says Steven Brakman, professor of International Trade at the University of Groningen. American companies that get things from Europe pay the import duties in the base. They pass on the extra costs to their customers in the United States.

European companies that have a competitor in the US for their product could be able to pay a part in the levy. Otherwise they run the risk of losing their American customer, thinks Martijn Schippers, customs specialist at Accountantskantoor EY and Erasmus University. “If that is not the case and it is a unique European product, then the price will simply be passed on to the American customer.”

And these products do not import from Europe, but according to his own industry in the US, will, according to him, take years.

Is there a ‘winner’?

That depends on how you look at the situation. Before 2 April there were few or no American import duties on most European products; That will soon be 15 percent.

In that respect, the European Union is a loser, says Steven Brakman. But the American president threatened earlier with Much higher import duties. “It is not too bad compared to the threat of 50 and 30 percent.” That that extreme threat was not carried out is a profit for the EU.

What if Trump sleeps poorly next week and decides to suddenly increase the levy to 30 percent?

Steven Brakman, professor of International Trade

According to the Professor of International Trade, America is also a loser in a certain way. The US was an economic ruler for a long time and with this policy of Trump that status is affected. Countries already looked at other trading partners and are now putting more speed behind it.

“The American economy is still doing well now, but it is expected that inflation will increase,” says Brakman. That means that daily life becomes more expensive for the normal American. Customs specialist Schippers says that it has to be seen who the winner is. “We have to wait and see who ultimately pays the bill.”

What will the European consumer feel of this?

Probably little for the time being. The European Union previously has countermeasures announced, like on American drinks and jeans. They are not going on for the time being and that is economically a smart move, economists say. Otherwise, products from the US become a lot more expensive for us.

Especially for European business community, this agreement will probably give some peace. In recent months, many companies did not know where they were, now that is at least a bit clearer for the time being. “At the same time, it is not yet crystallized,” says Schippers, such as with pharmaceutical products.

What is going to happen now?

The agreement is now being further elaborated. According to professor Brakman, the most important thing is that the EU records a deal for a longer period of time. “Because what if Trump sleeps poorly next week and decides to suddenly increase the levy to 30 percent?”

Schippers also says that we have to wait until there is a detailed agreement, with at least a definitive effective date. And then the agreements must still be approved by the European Parliament and the National Parliaments.