The European Union is heading towards a trade deal with Washington that would result in a broad 15% tariff on EU goods imported into the U.S., avoiding a harsher 30% levy slated to be implemented from August 1,

At present, there are no tariffs on either sector while the US holds an investigation on national security grounds into imports of those goods. However, indications are that the investigation may result in the EU seeing a 15% tariff imposed on both pharmaceuticals and computer chips once the process concludes.

German auto giant Volkswagen is feeling the effects of President Trump's tariff policy. An EU-US trade deal can't come soon enough for the Wolfsburg-based automaker.

Negotiations between the EU and the United States to strike a last-minute trade deal are "ongoing," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday, with only eight days to go before new US tariffs on the bloc take effect.

The European Union could hit the United States with counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) worth of U.S. goods if the two sides fail to reach a trade deal by Washington's August 1 deadline for imposing import levies.

In notes dated July 24, Goldman said it no longer expects the ECB to deliver a rate cut this year, while J.P. Morgan has pushed its rate-cut forecast to October from September previously. On Thursday, the ECB held policy rates unchanged at 2% after having cut interest rates eight times since June 2024.

As the EU digs in, President Trump announced two more deals and finalized a third, most notably a pact with Japan. “I just signed the largest deal in history with Japan," Trump

Wall Street's main indexes moved higher on Wednesday after a Financial Times reported that the EU and the United States were closing in on a trade deal, similar to the agreement U.S. President Donald Trump struck with Japan.