2025-07-27 20:13

Euro rises against dollar, pound, yen after deal announcement Trade deal averts spiraling row between the two allies Deal includes 15% tariff on EU imports to US US stocks hit record highs on Friday on optimism of easing trade tensions NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) - Investors cautiously embraced news of a trade deal on Sunday between the U.S. and European Union that is expected to bring clarity for companies and some certainty to markets ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's Friday tariffs deadline. The euro rose against the U.S. dollar , up 0.27% at $1.177. The currency also gained 0.2% against both the pound and the Japanese yen . Sign up here. Trump announced the United States has struck a framework trade deal with the EU that includes a 15% tariff on EU goods entering the U.S. and significant EU purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the deal includes "cars, semiconductors and pharmas." The deal is similar to parts of the framework agreement the U.S. clinched with Japan last week. "It's really in line with the Japan deal, and I assume investors will view it positively as they viewed the Japan deal," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey. Optimism over easing trade tensions broadly helped push U.S. stocks to record highs last week and lifted European shares to their highest since early June. Trump's April 2 "Liberation Day" announcement of sweeping global tariffs sent stocks plunging in the immediate aftermath, due to spiking fears about a recession that have since faded. "I don’t think equities in particular needed much of an excuse to rally and now they’ve got one," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone in London. Still, investors have been bracing for increased volatility heading into August 1, which the U.S. has set as a deadline for raising levies on a broad swath of trading partners. "We will need to see how long the sides stick to the deal. From a market perspective, it is reassuring in the sense that having a deal is better than not having a deal," Eric Winograd, chief economist at investment management firm AllianceBernstein, said about the EU agreement. The announcement came after Von der Leyen traveled to Scotland for talks with Trump to push a hard-fought deal over the line. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/euro-gains-investors-cautiously-welcome-us-eu-trade-deal-2025-07-25/

2025-07-27 19:42

Deal includes $600 billion EU investments in US, more EU energy, defence purchases 15% tariff better than threatened 30%, in deal mirroring Japan's EU says rate extends to cars, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors US steel and aluminium tariffs stay at 50%, but could fall later TURNBERRY, Scotland, July 27 (Reuters) - The United States struck a framework trade agreement with the European Union on Sunday, imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods, half the threatened rate, and averting a bigger trade war between two allies that account for almost a third of global trade. U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the deal at Trump's luxury golf course in western Scotland after an hour-long meeting that pushed the hard-fought deal over the line. Sign up here. "I think this is the biggest deal ever made," Trump told reporters, lauding EU plans to invest some $600 billion in the United States and dramatically increase its purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment. Trump said the deal, which tops a $550 billion deal signed with Japan last week, would expand ties between the trans-Atlantic powers after years of what he called unfair treatment of U.S. exporters. Von der Leyen, describing Trump as a tough negotiator, said the 15% tariff applied "across the board", later telling reporters it was "the best we could get." "We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it's a big deal. It's a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability," she said. The deal, which Trump said calls for $750 billion of EU purchases of U.S. energy in coming years and "hundreds of billions of dollars" of arms purchases, likely spells good news for a host of EU companies, including Airbus, Mercedes-Benz and Novo Nordisk, if all the details hold. The baseline 15% tariff will still be seen by many in Europe as too high, compared with Europe's initial hopes to secure a zero-for-zero tariff deal, though it is better than the threatened 30% rate. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal, saying it averted a trade conflict that would have hit Germany's export-driven economy and its large auto sector hard. German carmakers, VW, Mercedes and BMW were some of the hardest hit by the 27.5% U.S. tariff on car and parts imports now in place. But Bernd Lange, the German Social Democrat who heads the European Parliament's trade committee, said the tariffs were imbalanced and the hefty EU investment earmarked for the U.S. would likely come at the bloc's own expense. The euro rose around 0.2% against the dollar, sterling and yen within an hour of the deal's being announced. MIRROR OF JAPAN DEAL The deal mirrors key parts of the framework accord reached by the U.S. with Japan last week, but like that deal, it leaves many questions open, including tariff rates on spirits, a highly charged topic for many on both sides of the Atlantic. Carsten Nickel, deputy director of research at Teneo, said it was "merely a high-level, political agreement" that could not replace a carefully hammered out trade deal: "This, in turn, creates the risk of different interpretations along the way, as seen immediately after the conclusion of the U.S.-Japan deal." "We are agreeing that the tariff ... for automobiles and everything else will be a straight-across tariff of 15%," Trump said, but he quickly added that a 50% U.S. tariff on steel and aluminum will remain in place. Von der Leyen said that tariff would be cut and replaced with a quota system. Von der Leyen said the rate also applied to semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, and there would be no tariffs from either side on aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials. Trump appeared to suggest pharmaceuticals would not be covered, leaving some question about that aspect of the deal. No fact sheet was immediately issued by the White House. "We will keep working to add more products to this list," von der Leyen said, adding that spirits were still under discussion. Eric Winograd, chief economist at AllianceBernstein in New York, noted the similarity with Japan's U.S. deal. "We will need to see how long the sides stick to the deal. From a market perspective, it is reassuring in the sense that having a deal is better than not having a deal," he said. The deal will be sold as a triumph for Trump, who is seeking to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old U.S. trade deficits, and has already reached similar framework accords with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has not hit its goal of "90 deals in 90 days." He has periodically railed against the European Union, saying it was "formed to screw the United States" on trade. Arriving in Scotland, Trump said the EU wanted "to make a deal very badly" and said, as he met von der Leyen, that Europe had been "very unfair to the United States". Trump has fumed for years about the U.S. merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which in 2024 reached $235 billion, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The EU points to the U.S. surplus in services, which it says partially redresses the balance. Now he argues, his tariffs are bringing in "hundreds of billions of dollars" of revenues for the U.S., while dismissing warnings from economists about the risk of inflation. On July 12, Trump threatened to apply a 30% tariff on imports from the EU starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. The EU had prepared countertariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of U.S. goods in the event there was no deal, and Trump made good his 30% tariff threat. Some member states had also pushed for the bloc to use its most powerful trade weapon, the anti-coercion instrument, to target U.S. services in the event of a no-deal. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-eu-agree-trade-deal-eu-will-see-15-tariff-across-board-2025-07-27/

2025-07-27 19:34

July 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. and the European Union agreed on a framework trade deal on Sunday, ending months of uncertainty for industry and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. Here are the main elements of the deal: Sign up here. * Almost all EU goods entering the U.S. will be subject to a 15% baseline tariff, including cars, which now face 27.5%, as well as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. The 15% tariff is the maximum tariff and is not added to any existing rates. * However, the U.S. is to announce the result of its 232 trade investigations in two weeks and decide separately on tariff rates for chips and pharmaceuticals. Whatever U.S. decisions come later on these sectors will be "on a different sheet of paper", European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. * The U.S. and EU will have zero-for-zero tariffs on all aircraft and their components, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials. More products would be added. The situation for spirits is still to be established. * Tariffs on European steel and aluminium will stay at 50%, but von der Leyen said these would later be cut and replaced by a quota system. * The EU pledged to make $750 billion in strategic purchases, covering oil, gas, nuclear, fuel and chips during Trump's term. * Under the deal, the EU pledged to buy U.S. military equipment and European companies are to invest $600 billion in the U.S. over the course of Trump's second term. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/key-elements-eu-us-trade-deal-agreed-sunday-2025-07-27/

2025-07-27 18:58

SOFIA, July 27 (Reuters) - Firefighters battled wildfires at nearly 100 locations across Bulgaria on Sunday, with houses burned and residents evacuated, local media reported. A fire at the foot of the Pirin mountain in southwestern Bulgaria was spreading across thousands of acres of forest, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported. Sign up here. Another fire in the town of Simitli destroyed several houses as it spread towards the Maleshevo Mountain. More than 200 firefighters sent to the area on Saturday were pulled out because high winds were putting their lives in danger, authorities said, adding they expected air support from other EU countries. In western Bulgaria, a fire which broke out on Saturday and quickly spread across the border into Serbia on Sunday along the Miloslavska mountain range, almost burned the village Rani Lug to the ground, Nova television reported. "It's a merciless tragedy," emergency volunteer Zvezdelin Vlaykov said as huge clouds of smoke rose over the hills. "In all my years of firefighting, I've never seen anything like it." Authorities said three villages had been evacuated and the fire had caused significant damage. In a statement, the Interior Ministry described Bulgaria's wildfire situation as "dynamic and severe". On Sunday afternoon, a large fire broke out in the village of Kozarevo in the southeastern province of Yambol, burning several houses, BNR reported. Countries in southeast Europe have experienced record temperatures over the past week, with many located in an area dubbed "a wildfire hotspot" by scientists. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/wildfires-rage-across-bulgaria-destroying-forests-homes-2025-07-27/

2025-07-27 16:14

TURNBERRY, Scotland, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said there is a good chance that the United States and European Union would reach a trade agreement, citing three or four main sticking points. Trump made the comment at the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, on Scotland's western coast. Sign up here. Trump said the main sticking point was "fairness," citing barriers to U.S. exports of cars and agriculture. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-says-us-eu-have-good-chance-reaching-trade-deal-2025-07-27/

2025-07-27 14:44

JOHANNESBURG, July 27 (Reuters) - South Africa's government will give Transnet an additional 94.8 billion rand ($5.34 billion) guarantee facility to support the ailing state-owned logistics firm's recovery plan, the transport ministry said on Sunday. The facility comes on top of a 51 billion rand guarantee the government announced for Transnet in May, including 41 billion rand to cover the company’s funding needs over the 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years, and 10 billion rand earmarked for debt servicing and capital investments. Sign up here. The new guarantee comprises 48.6 billion rand to cover all debt redemptions over the next five years, and an additional 46.2 billion rand to mitigate against further credit rating actions, the ministry said in a statement. The government is supporting Transnet's five-year turnaround strategy, which seeks to restore freight rail volumes to 250 million metric tons per year by the end of the period. Those volumes fell to 152 million metric tons in the 2023/24 financial year, from a peak of 226 million metric tons in 2017/18. Transnet has failed to deliver reliable freight rail and port services due to equipment shortages and maintenance backlogs after years of under-investment. Its capacity has been further constrained by widespread cable theft and vandalism. The company's debt has risen to 145 billion rand from 138 billion rand at the end of the 2023/24 financial year, according to its chairperson, Andile Sangqu. Its loss widened to 7.3 billion rand in 2023/24, from 5.7 billion rand the previous year. Transnet's struggles have cost mineral exporters - primarily coal and iron ore producers - billions of rand in lost revenue. These exporters account for nearly 70% of Transnet’s freight volumes. Due to a lack of railway capacity, most of South Africa's chrome exports now reach ports by road, raising costs, damaging roads and the environment. ($1 = 17.7563 rand) https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/safricas-transnet-secures-more-than-5-bln-fresh-govt-guarantees-2025-07-27/