2025-07-27 19:34
July 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. and the European Union agreed on a framework trade deal on Sunday, ending months of uncertainty for industry and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. Here are the main elements of the deal: Sign up here. * Almost all EU goods entering the U.S. will be subject to a 15% baseline tariff, including cars, which now face 27.5%, as well as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. The 15% tariff is the maximum tariff and is not added to any existing rates. * However, the U.S. is to announce the result of its 232 trade investigations in two weeks and decide separately on tariff rates for chips and pharmaceuticals. Whatever U.S. decisions come later on these sectors will be "on a different sheet of paper", European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. * The U.S. and EU will have zero-for-zero tariffs on all aircraft and their components, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials. More products would be added. The situation for spirits is still to be established. * Tariffs on European steel and aluminium will stay at 50%, but von der Leyen said these would later be cut and replaced by a quota system. * The EU pledged to make $750 billion in strategic purchases, covering oil, gas, nuclear, fuel and chips during Trump's term. * Under the deal, the EU pledged to buy U.S. military equipment and European companies are to invest $600 billion in the U.S. over the course of Trump's second term. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/key-elements-eu-us-trade-deal-agreed-sunday-2025-07-27/
2025-07-27 18:58
SOFIA, July 27 (Reuters) - Firefighters battled wildfires at nearly 100 locations across Bulgaria on Sunday, with houses burned and residents evacuated, local media reported. A fire at the foot of the Pirin mountain in southwestern Bulgaria was spreading across thousands of acres of forest, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported. Sign up here. Another fire in the town of Simitli destroyed several houses as it spread towards the Maleshevo Mountain. More than 200 firefighters sent to the area on Saturday were pulled out because high winds were putting their lives in danger, authorities said, adding they expected air support from other EU countries. In western Bulgaria, a fire which broke out on Saturday and quickly spread across the border into Serbia on Sunday along the Miloslavska mountain range, almost burned the village Rani Lug to the ground, Nova television reported. "It's a merciless tragedy," emergency volunteer Zvezdelin Vlaykov said as huge clouds of smoke rose over the hills. "In all my years of firefighting, I've never seen anything like it." Authorities said three villages had been evacuated and the fire had caused significant damage. In a statement, the Interior Ministry described Bulgaria's wildfire situation as "dynamic and severe". On Sunday afternoon, a large fire broke out in the village of Kozarevo in the southeastern province of Yambol, burning several houses, BNR reported. Countries in southeast Europe have experienced record temperatures over the past week, with many located in an area dubbed "a wildfire hotspot" by scientists. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/wildfires-rage-across-bulgaria-destroying-forests-homes-2025-07-27/
2025-07-27 16:14
TURNBERRY, Scotland, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said there is a good chance that the United States and European Union would reach a trade agreement, citing three or four main sticking points. Trump made the comment at the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, on Scotland's western coast. Sign up here. Trump said the main sticking point was "fairness," citing barriers to U.S. exports of cars and agriculture. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-says-us-eu-have-good-chance-reaching-trade-deal-2025-07-27/
2025-07-27 14:44
JOHANNESBURG, July 27 (Reuters) - South Africa's government will give Transnet an additional 94.8 billion rand ($5.34 billion) guarantee facility to support the ailing state-owned logistics firm's recovery plan, the transport ministry said on Sunday. The facility comes on top of a 51 billion rand guarantee the government announced for Transnet in May, including 41 billion rand to cover the company’s funding needs over the 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years, and 10 billion rand earmarked for debt servicing and capital investments. Sign up here. The new guarantee comprises 48.6 billion rand to cover all debt redemptions over the next five years, and an additional 46.2 billion rand to mitigate against further credit rating actions, the ministry said in a statement. The government is supporting Transnet's five-year turnaround strategy, which seeks to restore freight rail volumes to 250 million metric tons per year by the end of the period. Those volumes fell to 152 million metric tons in the 2023/24 financial year, from a peak of 226 million metric tons in 2017/18. Transnet has failed to deliver reliable freight rail and port services due to equipment shortages and maintenance backlogs after years of under-investment. Its capacity has been further constrained by widespread cable theft and vandalism. The company's debt has risen to 145 billion rand from 138 billion rand at the end of the 2023/24 financial year, according to its chairperson, Andile Sangqu. Its loss widened to 7.3 billion rand in 2023/24, from 5.7 billion rand the previous year. Transnet's struggles have cost mineral exporters - primarily coal and iron ore producers - billions of rand in lost revenue. These exporters account for nearly 70% of Transnet’s freight volumes. Due to a lack of railway capacity, most of South Africa's chrome exports now reach ports by road, raising costs, damaging roads and the environment. ($1 = 17.7563 rand) https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/safricas-transnet-secures-more-than-5-bln-fresh-govt-guarantees-2025-07-27/
2025-07-27 14:37
Race faces long delay Drivers wait for weather to improve SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium, July 27 (Reuters) - The Belgian Formula One Grand Prix started after four laps behind the safety car on Sunday following a delay of nearly an hour and a half due to rain and poor visibility at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. After an initial formation lap behind the safety car, the cars were brought into the pit lane and the starting procedure halted. Sign up here. "I can't see a lot behind the safety car so I can't imagine what it's like for everyone else," McLaren's pole-sitter Lando Norris, who is nine points behind championship-leading teammate Oscar Piastri, said over the team radio. After the long wait, the FIA cleared the race to start once standing water had been removed. The safety car then led the field around to assess visibility before a rolling start was decided. The rain-affected 2021 Belgian Grand Prix remains the shortest race in Formula One history with only three laps completed behind the safety car and half points awarded. "We should just run," said Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen over the radio when the red flags were shown. "They’re way too cautious." Nico Rosberg, the retired 2016 world champion, told Sky Sports television that there was little drivers could do other than wait. "The conditions out there are horrendous and the race start will be extremely difficult," said the German. "You can't see anything. You have long straights but must stay flat, but you're blind, looking left or right at the wall to find a brake marker board." https://www.reuters.com/sports/formula1/belgian-grand-prix-starts-after-long-rain-delay-2025-07-27/
2025-07-27 11:55
Two leaders to meet on Trump's Scottish golf course Trump sees 50-50 chance for EU trade deal EU faces tariffs on 70% of exports, including steel and cars Deal could impose 15% tariff, better than 30% threat GLASGOW, July 27 (Reuters) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday to clinch a trade deal for Europe that would likely see a 15% baseline tariff on most EU goods, but end months of uncertainty for EU companies. Before the meeting, expected at 1530 GMT on Trump's golf course in Turnberry, western Scotland, U.S. and EU teams were in final talks on tariffs for crucial sectors like cars, steel, aluminium or pharmaceuticals. Sign up here. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick flew to Scotland on Saturday and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic arrived on Sunday morning. "We're cautiously optimistic that there will be a deal reached," said a Trump administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "But it's not over till it's over." Ambassadors of EU governments, on a weekend trip to Greenland organised by the Danish presidency of the EU, held a teleconference with EU Commission officials on Sunday to agree on the amount of leeway von der Leyen would have in the talks. In case there is no deal and the U.S. imposes 30% tariffs from August 1, the EU has prepared counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of U.S. goods. EU diplomats have said a deal would likely include a broad 15% tariff on EU goods imported into the U.S., mirroring the U.S.-Japan trade deal, along with a 50% tariff on European steel and aluminium for which there could be export quotas. The EU deal would be a huge prize, given that the U.S. and EU are each other's largest trading partners by far and account for a third of global trade. EU officials are hopeful that a 15% baseline tariff would also apply to cars, replacing the current 27.5% auto tariff. POSSIBLE EXEMPTIONS Some expect the 27-nation bloc may be able to secure exemptions from the 15% baseline tariff for its aerospace industry and for spirits, though probably not for wine. The EU could also pledge to buy more liquefied natural gas from the U.S., a long-standing offer, and boost investment in the United States. Trump told reporters there was "not a lot" of wiggle room on the 50% tariffs that the U.S. has on steel and aluminium imports, adding, "because if I do it for one, I have to do it for all." The U.S. president, in Scotland for a few days of golfing and bilateral meetings, told reporters upon his arrival on Friday evening that von der Leyen was a highly respected leader and he was looking forward to meeting with her. He said there was a 50-50 chance that the two sides could reach a framework trade pact, adding that Brussels wanted to "make a deal very badly". The EU now faces U.S. tariffs on more than 70% of its exports, with 50% on steel and aluminium, an extra 25% on cars and car parts on top of the existing 2.5% and a 10% levy on most other EU goods. Trump has said that without a deal, he would hike the rate to 30% on August 1, a level EU officials said would wipe out whole chunks of transatlantic commerce. Further tariffs on copper and pharmaceuticals are looming. The uncertainty and higher tariffs have already hit profits of EU companies in several sectors. A 15% tariff on most EU goods would remove uncertainty but would be seen by many in Europe as a poor outcome compared to the initial European ambition of a zero-for-zero tariff deal on all industrial goods. Seeking to learn from Japan, which secured a 15% baseline tariff with the U.S. in a deal earlier this week, EU negotiators spoke to their Japanese counterparts in preparation for Sunday's meeting. For Trump, aiming to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old U.S. trade deficits, a deal with the EU would be the biggest trade agreement, surpassing the $550 billion deal with Japan. So far, he has reeled in agreements with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has failed to deliver on a promise of "90 deals in 90 days." https://www.reuters.com/business/trump-eus-von-der-leyen-meet-sunday-clinch-trade-deal-2025-07-27/
