Interview: Spanish economist says EU gains little from new tariff deal with U.S.

The European Union has little to gain from its new trade deal with the United States, with Germany likely to be the bloc's biggest loser, Sergi Basco, associate professor of Economics at Barcelona University, told Xinhua recently.

Basco said the "only positive outcome for Europe" in the deal, under which the United States will impose a baseline 15 percent tariff on EU goods while many U.S. exports to Europe face no tariffs, is that "instead of 30 percent, it is 15 percent."

He noted that Germany will probably "lose the most," as it is the EU's largest exporter to the United States.

The tariffs will "likely cause the sales of German cars to the United States to go down," and hurt Spain's automotive industry as well, "because many of the vehicles Germany sells use components made in Spain," Basco added.

Basco criticized European leaders for handling the trade deal "too weakly," noting that the EU has tools to counter U.S. pressure.

"I don't know if it's because the negotiations were hampered by there being different voices, but it seems to me that their reaction was weak," he said.

Meanwhile, Basco cautioned that it is "important" to note that the trade deal is "a non-binding agreement," citing a European Commission statement stressing that the two sides "will further negotiate, in line with their relevant internal procedures, to fully implement the political agreement."

He noted that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the trade deal as a "framework," adding that the agreement will need approval from all 27 EU member states, whose ambassadors are set to meet on Monday.

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(Cover: European Union flags at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, August 1, 2025. /VCG)