Dhaka, Aug. 30 -- The European Commission on Thursday set in motion plans to eliminate duties on U.S. industrial products, opening the EU's procedure for a trans-Atlantic trade arrangement that would also backdate reductions in U.S. levies on European cars.

The provisional arrangement eased tensions between the two largest trade and investment partners, though the terms are not balanced. The EU agreed to reduce its own tariffs and step up purchases of U.S. energy, while the United States continued to apply duties to roughly 70pc of EU shipments.

In February, Trump said the EU was "formed to screw the United States" and linked the new terms to shrinking the U.S. goods deficit with the bloc, which stood at $235 billion in 2024.

Member go...