German auto companies embraced greater clarity but warned that even the lower rate of tariffs agreed between Brussels and Washington would still hurt.

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — The United States and the European Union agreed on Sunday to a trade framework setting a 15% tariff on most goods, staving off — at least for now — far higher import duties on both sides that might have sent shock waves through economies around the globe.

The 15% tariff would be lower than previously threatened, but it would remain a high duty on America’s largest trading partner.

A new 15% tariff goes into effect on imports to the U.S. from the European Union starting Friday. Last year, those same goods were taxed at about 1.2%. Former Rep. Max Rose, Staff Writer at The Atlantic Ashley Parker and Mark McKinnon,

Trump had most recently threatened tariffs of 30% on imports from the European Union. But on Sunday, he met with the president of the European Commission, and they agreed to a lower level.

Confident that his right-wing populist policies would help win him favor with Trump’s administration, Orbán said in an interview in April that while tariffs “will be a disadvantage,” his government was negotiating “other economic agreements and issues that will offset them.”

The outlook for European corporate health has slightly improved, the latest earnings forecasts showed on Tuesday, despite continued uncertainty over global trade and the European Union preparing for counter-measures against any major U.