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The United States and the European Union reached an agreement to limit tariffs on pharmaceuticals, lumber and semiconductors to 15%, according to an agreement obtained by NBC News on Thursday (August 21).
The United States confirmed that it plans to roll back tariffs on "unavailable natural resources (including cork), all aircraft and aircraft parts, generic pharmaceuticals and their ingredients and chemical precursors” to the same levels prior to the beginning of President Donald Trump's administration in January beginning on September 1. The deal also includes a promise from the European Union to invest in American energy and artificial intelligence technology.
“The European Union intends to procure U.S. liquified natural gas, oil, and nuclear energy products with an expected offtake valued at $750 billion through 2028. In addition, the European Union intends to purchase at least $40 billion worth of U.S. AI chips for its computing centers,” the statement from the agreement reads.
The agreement followed Trump's public threats of raising tariffs as high as 250% on the European pharmaceutical industry, as well as the region's semiconductor industry up to 100%. The president's global trade agenda is beginning to take shape as he's already locked in tariff rates for imports on dozens of countries, which he's claimed will bring in billions of dollars in revenue, however, economists warn that the taxation of goods being imported will continue to fuel inflation.