According to the White House, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors will fall under the 15% tariff, with no mention of that number being the upper limit.
But the EU says the two sectors will remain on the current 0% rate for now and until new global tariff rates are agreed. Any future tariffs, according to the EU, will be capped at 15%.
Tariffs on steel and aluminium, according to the US, will remain at 50%. The EU says Brussels and Washington will work to cut that number and that they will be replaced by a quota system to come beyond 1 August.
Some of the most glaring discrepancies can be found in the language used by the two sides to describe the EU’s investment commitments.
Where the US statement says the EU “will” purchase $750bn (£568bn) in US oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and nuclear energy products, the EU says only that it “intends” to do so as it weans itself off Russian gas and oil.
Not only is it unclear whether the US can even provide such amounts to the EU, says Cinzia Alcidi, but the EU cannot decide purchases on behalf of the private sector.
Similarly, the US says the EU will invest $600bn by the end of Trump’s second term – but the EU states simply that “companies have expressed interest” in investing that sum by 2029. As Brussels cannot force private firms to invest in the US, there is technically no guarantee that amount can or will be reached.
According to the US, the EU has “agreed to purchase significant amounts” of US military equipment. There is no mention of this in the EU statement.
Nearly 80% of the EU’s defence investment already goes to the US, and scaling up further may not be possible; besides, such a commitment would be at odds with von der Leyen’s recent ReArm Europe plan, which calls for investments in Europe’s domestic defence industry.
And while negotiations continue, the US will also apply a 15% tariff on wine and spirits, the Commission said on Thursday, adding it would continue to try and achieve a carve-out.
On Wednesday, Macron said the agreement had the merit of offering “predictability in the short term” – but also called for Europe to be firmer with the US.
“In order to be free you have to be feared. We weren’t feared enough,” he said.
Given the amount of detail that still needs hammering out, the next phase of negotiations is set to continue for some time – and after the backlash the Commission received this week, European negotiators may feel under greater pressure to stand their ground.