The deal was struck less than a week before the U.S. threatened to levy a much higher 30% tariff on European goods.

Ursula von der Leyen is set to meet with Trump on Sunday to try and clinch a trade deal for Europe that would likely see a 15% baseline tariff on most EU goods.

If there is no deal and the US imposes 30 per cent tariffs, the EU has prepared counter-tariffs on US$109 billion of US goods.