PM’s positive response jars with that of other European leaders, industry bosses

Portugal’s prime minister has welcomed the trade deal ‘thrashed out’ in the mock-up of the Oval Office at President Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland yesterday.

Images coming from the meeting between the US president and European Commissioner Ursula Von der Leyen show a supremely comfortable looking Mr Trump, and Ms Von der Leyen looking very much the opposite.

The ‘great deal’ hammered out, involves 15% tariffs on all European products.

It has been “highly criticised” by several European leaders, who consider that only the Americans emerge as ‘winners’, says SIC Notícias. But in a post over social network ‘X’, Luís Montenegro says the deal “brings predictability and stability, vital for Portuguese businesses and the economy”.

The decision “avoids escalation, but places new demands on the fight for more trade agreements, the removal of barriers, and the transformative agenda of simplification and cost reduction”, said the PM.

The apparent discomfort on Ms Von der Leyen’s face belied her words. She described the agreement as “a good deal”, referring to the United States and Europe as the “two largest economies in the world”.

Ms Von der Leyen outlined the deal in a post on social network X.

it will have economic consequences, not to mention “an immense negative impact” on Germany’s export-oriented industry.

As an article in Euronews has conceded, “a review of Trump’s actions to date raises doubts about the reliability of the agreement and the US president’s words.

“In an interview with the (German) Funke media group, Michael Hüther, director of the Institute for the German Economy, said that concerns remained as Trump had never completely taken tariff threats off the table”.