The EU-US deal will hurt their economies, raise tariffs and weaken the global legal order. But despite it all, the EU was right to accept.
A trade deal is normally the end stage of lengthy negotiations that produce a long list of documents detailing every concession made. In the case of last week’s EU-US trade agreement, there were no such details – only a political agreement with broad guidelines that leave many details unclear or to be negotiated. Moreover, many aspects of the deal are non-binding, or aspirational in nature. Although the agreement will leave everyone worse off in the end, the cost is manageable and preferable to a trade war the EU can ill afford and would likely lose.
About the Author
Aslak Berg is a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.