How Trump Got the Upper Hand Over the EU on Tariffs

European officials gave up on trying to avoid tariffs altogether and instead looked for the best deal they could get

- Kim Mackrael & Brian Schwartz

Soon after he sat down to negotiate Sunday with European officials on a potential tariff agreement at one of his Scotland golf resorts, President Trump said he wanted assurances that Europe would follow through on its pledges to increase investment in the U.S. Trump questioned how the U.S. could be certain that European companies wouldn't shrug off their plans after a deal was agreed upon, according to people familiar with the matter. After EU leaders assured him that the investment plans were real, Trump responded: "Prove it," according to one of the people.

EU officials rattled off the names of companies they said already were prepared to invest. With a trade deal in place, planned investments of almost $200 billion would grow by even more, they told Trump.

At the end of the talks, Trump said he would impose 15% baseline tariffs on the bloc, instead of the 30% he had threatened. He said the EU would now be investing $600 billion in the U.S. under the deal, which included a separate commitment to buy $750 billion of American energy products from the U.S. over three years. European officials said the $600 billion figure was based on private companies' investment plans.

The agreement, widely seen as a victory for Trump, marked the culmination of monthslong talks between America and its largest trading partner and offered the biggest signal yet that nations see the U.S. tariff regime as more permanent than temporary. The pact came about following a shift in thinking by the Europeans: EU officials in recent talks sought to contain the damage the tariffs will inflict on the bloc's companies and economy, rather than try to negotiate them away outright.

Tariffs of 15% are "certainly a challenge for some," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. "But we should not forget it keeps [the EU's] access to the American market."