I think it's not that bad, when you consider all goods ands services:
"For technical reasons, there is not one “absolute” figure for the average tariffs on EU-US trade, as this calculation can be done in a variety of ways which produce quite varied results. Nevertheless, considering the actual trade in goods between the EU and US, in practice the average tariff rate on both sides is approximately 1%. In 2023, the US collected approximately €7 billion of tariffs on EU exports, and the EU collected approximately €3 billion on US exports."
We don’t want a race to the bottom when it comes to agricultural products. American products are cheap but they suck. Ours are better but more expensive. Making American crap expensive is good for us. That’s a good use of tariffs: avoiding flooding the market with inferior products at the cost of local made.
Volvo and Mercedes (freight liner) trucks are popular in the US. Truckers tell me Peterbuilt makes a good truck and compete well, but since I don't drive a truck I can't tell you what makes them better. I can tell you that Volvo and Mercedes are considered basic trucks for companies to own, while those who own their own truck like pay extra for luxury features in a Peterbuilt. (the only luxury I can see though is chrome decorations, again not being a trucker I have no clue if anything else is better or not)
And offered 0% tariffs on all physical goods (that includes agriculture) weeks ago. But no, Trump is financially illiterate and doesn't understand the concept of VAT.
