The EU gets a 15 percent tariff, as expected: – The best we could hope for, says the chief economist.

• Kristian Aaser

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The EU and the US have signed a trade agreement that averts what could have been a devastating trade war for the global economy.

The news came after a meeting between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland on Sunday evening. Ahead of the meeting, both agreed on a 50 percent chance of agreement.

"It's the biggest deal ever," Trump told reporters after the meeting.

He then listed what they agreed on:

• The EU committed to buying $750 billion worth of energy from the United States.
• The trading bloc is to invest $600 billion in the United States beyond existing investments, and purchase large amounts of military equipment.
• The EU should open its countries to trade with zero tariffs.
• The tariff on goods from the EU to the US will be 15 percent. This includes, among other things, cars, but not metals and pharmaceuticals.

– Not a disaster

– This is probably the best we could hope for, considering the circumstances, says Chief Economist Marius Gonsholt Hov at Handelsbanken Capital Markets to E24 shortly after the announcement of the agreement.

– Since it was not long ago that Trump threatened a 30 percent tariff, and at the same time it became clear that it was not possible to get the tariff rate down to 10 percent, he adds.

He emphasizes that not many details about the agreement have yet been released.

– 15 percent is still a lot, but not a disaster, says the chief economist.

– Will provide stability

The EU chief also seemed satisfied during the press conference after the meeting.

– The agreement will provide stability and predictability, said von der Leyen.

When asked what the US has gone back on, von der Leyen replied that the starting point was an imbalance in the trade relationship.

– We wanted to rebalance the trade relationship, and we wanted to do it in a way that allowed trade between the two of us to continue. The two largest economies across the Atlantic should have good trade between them. I thought we hit exactly the point we found: Rebalancing, but facilitating trade on both sides, she said.

Earlier this year The United States recorded a record-breaking foreign trade deficit The EU was among the countries on the list of trading partners to which the United States imported more than it exported.

Dramatic backdrop

In mid-July, Trump sent a letter to the EU where he announced a 30 percent tariff on imported goods from the union.

Earlier this year, Trump granted a 90-day reprieve from tariffs on a number of countries, including Norway. The reprieve was originally scheduled to last until Wednesday, July 9, but the latest deadline has been August 1.

Earlier this week, news broke that Trump has signed a trade agreement with Japan The trade agreement includes, among other things, a 15 percent tariff on imports of Japanese goods, below the 25 percent initially announced.

Lots of trade

Trade between the EU and the US is worth around 1,600 billion euros annually and accounts for almost 30 percent of global trade in goods and services, according to EU figures.

On Sunday evening, the US Commerce Secretary said on Fox Business that there are unlikely to be any new delays if a deal is not reached. Trump reiterated this at the press conference before the meeting.