Since Sunday 27 July, the European Union and the United States have had to publish a joint - non-binding - statement marking the agreement reached between the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the US President, Donald Trump. At the time of going to press, no such document had yet seen the light of day, even though the tariff truce only ran until 1 August. By Thursday evening, Washington had also failed to publish an executive order to formalise certain aspects of the agreement reached with the European Union.
“In the event that more time is required to finalise the joint statement beyond 1 August [...], it is the clear understanding of the European Union that the US will implement the agreed across the board tariff ceiling of 15%. It is also our clear understanding that the US will implement the exemptions to the [...] ceiling tariff”, explained Commission Trade spokesperson, Olof Gill, on Thursday 31 July. For this treatment to be effectively applied, however, the US administration must enact the new tariffs by means of executive acts.
The EU, for its part, has until 7 August to suspend or cancel the countermeasures it previously adopted against the United States, which became null and void following the political agreement reached on Sunday 27 July.
From the beginning of the year to the end of June, the United States generated more revenue from tariffs than it did in the whole of 2024, according to US Treasury data compiled by AFP. Total revenues exceed $87 billion, compared with nearly $79 billion in 2024. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)