With the current pause on the sweeping tariffs set to expire on Aug. 1, the Trump administration announced that it has reached a deal with the European Union to impose tariffs of 15% on most imports.

As part of the agreement, following negotiations in Scotland between President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EU will invest $750 billion in U.S. energy, as well as military equipment purchases also valuing in the hundreds of millions.

According to Reuters, Von der Leyen said that the 15% rate applied “across the board,” including automobiles, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, and was “the best we could get.”

“We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it’s a big deal,” she said, according to Reuters. “It’s a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability.”

The uncertainty and lack of stability has been one of the main pain points in the promotional products industry and beyond, as companies that import their products or components have had great difficulty in setting consistent pricing with frequent changes in tariff rates by the Trump administration.

Steel & Aluminum Still Unchanged

Despite the significant drop from the proposed 30% tariff on European goods to 15%, the 50% tariff rate on steel and aluminum remains intact. Reuters reported that Von der Leyen said the tariffs could eventually be replaced with a “quota system” that’s still being hammered out. The New York Times reported that the quota system would include lower tariffs on metal products sent to the U.S. up to the current volume of annual exports. Once that rate is exceeded, the higher tariffs would take effect.

Reactions Are Mixed

While Trump boasted that it was “the biggest deal ever made,” reactions are less glowing in the EU.

“My initial assessment: Not satisfactory,” German European Parliament member Bernd Lange posted on X.

Deal reached #EU #US #tariffs 🇪🇺 🇺🇸
My first assessment:not satisfactory.This is a lopsided deal.Concessions have clearly been made that are difficult to accept. Deal with significant imbalance. Furthermore lot of questions still open.E.g. Standstillclause? More concrete numbers?

— Bernd Lange (@berndlange) July 27, 2025

Appearing on Fox News this morning, Fox Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino speculated that even with the deal in place, companies that purchase European steel and aluminum will face pricing issues down the line.

“Every penny that we get from them is being passed to the U.S. consumer,” he said. “Some companies will eat it for now. But remember, companies don’t report to the president, they report to shareholders, and they have a fiduciary responsibility for profit margins.”

“The crippling uncertainty is largely over, the deal is bearable for the EU,” Berenberg Bank’s chief economist, Holger Schmieding, said, according to The Guardian. “Trump can claim that the asymmetric deal is a ‘win’ for him. But of course, the outcome is still bad relative to the situation that prevailed before Trump started his trade wars.”

Specific to the print and promotional products industries, companies that use steel and aluminum for things like signage, displays and drinkware will still face difficulties if the 50% tariff does not lessen or disappear.

"Generally speaking, while this is positive news overall, in its current form it doesn't provide any relief for much of our product offering," Kevin Walsh, president of Counselor Top 40 Supplier Showdown Displays (asi/87188), told ASI Media. "The steel and aluminum tariffs are global, including the EU, and at 50% are a significant fee. We remain optimistic that these discussions continue and some steel and aluminum relief for the EU could be forthcoming. But this recent agreement does not offer any near-term relief."

Matt Quinn, president and CEO of signage and display supplier Quinn (asi/80228) called the trade agreement with the EU "merely a temporary truce," and pointed out that while this particular deal doesn't make much of a difference in the supplier's life, the global steel and aluminum tariffs still hurt.

"Aluminum and steel are a concern for our industry but, like us, most of the aluminum and steel comes from China, so this specific trade agreement doesn't affect us," he told ASI Media. "The China-specific tariffs on aluminum and steel, since Liberation Day, are north of 50% posing a much greater threat to our industry, which puts pressure on distributors and suppliers to raise prices. Fortunately, Quinn is well-positioned to help offset increases for the short term due to high inventory levels on aluminum and steel products, especially tent frames and trade show displays."

Changes Still Could Come

Von der Leyen noted that there would be no tariffs from either side on products like aircrafts and aircraft parts, some chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, agriculture product, as well as some natural resources and raw materials.

She also added that spirits were still under discussion as something that could be added to that zero-tariff list. This means that, for now, any promotional products company that might include European wine and spirits in their product offerings might still face some pricing uncertainty.

Reuters also reported that one U.S. official said there’s a “reasonably good chance” that the two parties could even agree to a lower rate than 15% following a U.S. review of things as they currently stand, but did not give any timetable as to when that might be decided.