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Belgium’s prime minister said on Sunday that the trade deal announced between the United States and the European Union is a “moment of relief” but not worthy of celebration.
In a post on the social platform X, Bart De Wever said he hopes President Trump will one day come to “embrace the value of free trade.”
“As we await full details of the new EU–US trade agreement, one thing is clear: this is a moment of relief but not of celebration. Tariffs will increase in several areas and some key questions remain unresolved,” De Wever said.
“I sincerely hope the United States will, in due course, turn away again from the delusion of protectionism and once again embrace the value of free trade – a cornerstone of shared prosperity,” he added.
Trump and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the trade deal on Sunday, setting tariffs at 15 percent for European goods, including automobiles.
The European Union will purchase $750 billion worth of energy from the U.S. as part of the deal, Trump announced, and agreed to invest in the U.S. $600 billion more than the current investments for other goods.
Trump had threatened to impose a 30-percent tariff on goods from the EU, which would have begun on Aug. 1, and the deal announced on Sunday avoids a trade war with the U.S.’s largest trading partner. Still, the tariffs are higher than some European allies would have liked.
De Wever praised von der Leyen for her work negotiating the trade deal.
“Still, I commend President @vonderleyen and her team for their hard work and dedication over recent months, focused on preserving transatlantic ties and ensuring trade remains as stable as possible under challenging circumstances,” he wrote.
He called on the EU to continue developing its other global partnerships.
“In the meantime, Europe must continue to deepen its internal market, cut unnecessary regulation, and forge new partnerships to diversify our global trade network,” he wrote. “May Europe become the beacon of open, fair, and reliable trade the world so urgently needs.”
