European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has defended the compromise on tariffs hammered out between the European Union and US President Donald Trump.
The agreement represents a "conscious decision: stability and predictability instead of escalation and confrontation," von der Leyen writes in an article for the German national daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, for publication on Monday.
"Imagine for a moment if the two largest economies of the democratic world had failed to reach agreement and had launched a trade war. That would have been celebrated only in Moscow and Beijing," von der Leyen says.
Referring to the US tariff ceiling of 15%, von der Leyen writes they had struck a good, if not a perfect deal. "With reciprocal tariffs on our side, we would run the risk of igniting a costly trade war with negative consequences for our employees, consumers and our industry," she writes.
The commission's negotiating tactics have come under criticism for granting the United States better conditions than those applying to EU companies. The EU accepted the deal in the face of a threat of 30% tariffs te be imposed by the US from August 1, which could have triggered a trade war.
There was also concern that Trump could issue new threats in the event of a conflict.
