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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 sweeping announcement came after President Donald Trump and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen met briefly at Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland. Their private sit-down culminated months of bargaining, with the White House deadline Friday nearing for imposing punishing tariffs on the EU’s 27 member countries.“It was a very interesting negotiation. I think it’s going to be great for both parties,” Trump said. The agreement, he said, was “a good deal for everybody” and “a giant deal with lots of countries.”Von der Leyen said the deal “will bring stability, it will bring predictability, that’s very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.” Many facets will require more work As with other, recent tariff agreements that Trump announced with countries including Japan and the United Kingdom, some major details remain pending in this one.Trump said the EU had agreed to buy some $750 billion worth of U.S. energy and invest $600 billion more than it already is in America as well as make a major military equipment purchase. He said tariffs “for automobiles and everything else will be a straight across tariff of 15%” and meant that U.S. exporters “have the opening up of all of the European countries.”Von der Leyen said the 15% tariffs were “across the board, all inclusive” and that “indeed, basically the European market is open.”At a later news conference away from Turnberry, she said the $750 billion in additional U.S. energy purchases was actually over the next three years and would help ease the dependence on natural gas from Russia among the bloc’s countries.“When the European Union and the United States work together as partners, the benefits are tangible,” Von der Leyen said, noting that the agreement “stabilized on a single, 15% tariff rate for the vast majority of EU exports” including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.“15% is a clear ceiling,” she said.But von der Leyen also clarified that such a rate wouldn’t apply to everything, saying that both sides agreed on “zero for zero tariffs on a number of strategic products,” like all aircraft and component parts, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials.It is unclear if alcohol will be included in that list.“And we will keep working to add more products to this list,” she said, while also stressing that the “framework means the figures we have just explained to the public, but, of course, details have to be sorted out. And that will happen over the next weeks.” Further EU approval needed In the meantime, there will be work to do on other fronts. Von der Leyen had a mandate to negotiate because the European Commission handles trade for member countries. But the Commission must now present the deal to member states and EU lawmakers, who will ultimately decide whether or not to approve it.Before their meeting began, Trump pledged to change what he characterized as “a very one-sided transaction, very unfair to the United States.”“I think both sides want to see fairness,” the Republican president told reporters.Von der Leyen said the U.S. and EU combined have the world’s largest trade volume, encompassing hundreds of millions of people and trillions of dollars and added that Trump was “known as a tough negotiator and dealmaker.”“But fair,” Trump said.Trump has spent months threatening most of the world with large tariffs in hopes of shrinking major U.S. trade deficits with many key trading partners. More recently, he had hinted that any deal with the EU would have to “buy down” a tariff rate of 30% that had been set to take effect.But during his comments before the agreement was announced, the president was asked if he’d be willing to accept tariff rates lower than 15%, and he said “no.” First golf, then trade talk Their meeting came after Trump played golf for the second straight day at Turnberry, this time with a group that included sons Eric and Donald Jr. In addition to negotiating deals, Trump’s five-day visit to Scotland is built around golf and promoting properties bearing his name.A small group of demonstrators at the course waved American flags and raised a sign criticizing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who plans his own Turnberry meeting with Trump on Monday.Other voices could be heard cheering and chanting “Trump! Trump!” as he played nearby.On Tuesday, Trump will be in Aberdeen, in northeastern Scotland, where his family has another golf course and is opening a third next month. The president and his sons plan to help cut the ribbon on the new course.The U.S. and EU seemed close to a deal earlier this month, but Trump instead threatened the 30% tariff rate. The deadline for the Trump administration to begin imposing tariffs has shifted in recent weeks but is now firm and coming Friday, the administration insists.“No extensions, no more grace periods. Aug. 1, the tariffs are set, they’ll go into place, Customs will start collecting the money and off we go,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told “Fox News Sunday” before the EU deal was announced. He added, however, that even after that “people can still talk to President Trump. I mean, he’s always willing to listen.”Without an agreement, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes.If Trump eventually followed through on his threat of tariffs against Europe, meanwhile, it could have made everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the United States.“I think it’s great that we made a deal today, instead of playing games and maybe not making a deal at all,” Trump said. “I think it’s the biggest deal ever made.” Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim in Cincinnati and Samuel Petrequin in London contributed to this report. Will Weissert, Associated Press
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Union members who assemble Boeing’s fighter jets in the St. Louis area have “overwhelmingly voted” to reject the company’s contract offer on Sunday, with the company now preparing for an imminent strike. Boeing’s proposal, which was sent on Tuesday to more than 3,200 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 837, included a 20% general wage increase over four years and a $5,000 ratification bonus, as well as more vacation time and sick leave. “The proposal from Boeing Defense fell short of addressing the priorities and sacrifices of the skilled IAM Union workforce,” the IAM union said. Dan Gillian, Boeing’s Air Dominance vice president, general manager and senior St. Louis Site executive said in an emailed statement that it is disappointed Boeing employees voted down “the richest contract offer we’ve ever presented to IAM 837 which addressed all their stated priorities.” “We’ve activated our contingency plan and are focused on preparing for a strike. No talks are scheduled with the union,” Gillian added. The current contract expires on Sunday following which there is a seven-day cooling off period before a strike would begin, the union added. Boeing’s defense division is expanding manufacturing facilities in the St. Louis area for the new U.S. Air Force fighter, the F-47, after it won the contract earlier this year. The Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter jet program, initially conceived as a “family of systems” centered around a sixth-generation fighter jet, is meant to replace the F-22 Raptor. Rishabh Jaiswal and Angela Christy, Reuters
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If youve relied on your local Rite Aid pharmacy to fill your prescriptions, you should be aware that nearly all Rite Aid pharmacy locations will be closed by next month. So what happens to your prescriptions? Rite Aid will be transferring them to local third-party pharmacies in your area. Heres where you can find out where Rite Aid pharmacy prescriptions will be transferred to and when most of Rite Aids remaining pharmacies will be closed. Why are Rite Aids pharmacies closing? Back in May, the struggling Rite Aid pharmacy chain announced that it had filed for bankruptcy and would cease operations. The chain immediately began winding down its business. As Fast Company previously reported, Rite Aid has announced multiple waves of store closures via court documents dating back to early May. As of June 30, Rite Aid had announced the closures of more than 1,000 locations, nearing the 1,277 number of locations the company said it operated when it originally filed for bankruptcy. While some Rite Aid locations have been acquired by competitors, such as 64 by CVS, most Rite Aid locations will be shuttering for good by the time the companys bankruptcy proceedings wind down later this year. Which Rite Aid pharmacies are still open? Rite Aid has already closed a majority of its stores and pharmacies. According to the companys pharmacy closure list, hundreds of pharmacies have already closed for good. The first pharmacies on the list began shutting their doors on June 2. But as of today’s date (July 28), the list still shows that more than 150 locations are still open (though over a dozen are expected to permanently shut today). The last store on the list, the Rite Aid Pharmacy at 5627-99 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is listed to be closed on Friday, August 8. However, it should be noted that this list is apparently just referencing the actual pharmacies that are operating in the closing store locations. The non-pharmacy parts of the Rite Aid locations may remain open for longer. Fast Company reached out to Rite Aid for more information on when final store closures are expected. We will update this post if we hear back. Where do I pick up my Rite Aid pharmacy prescriptions now? If you have regular, recurring prescriptions at a soon-to-close Rite Aid pharmacy, Rite Aid says that it has taken steps to have your prescriptions automatically transferred to a third-party pharmacy in your area. To find out where your prescriptions have been or will be transferred to, you can use Rite Aids Pharmacy Closure and Transfer List. To use the tool, enter the zip code of the Rite Aid pharmacy that previously held your prescriptions. The list will then filter to reveal Rite Aid locations in that zip code. Look for the location that matches your Rite Aid pharmacys address. After its address, youll see a column that says Last Day of Pharmacy Business. The date in that column tells you when that Rite Aid pharmacy is closing. The columns after that date will show you the New Pharmacy Name of where your prescriptions are being transferred to (a local Walgreens, for example) and the new pharmacys address and phone number. It may be a good idea to call ahead to the new pharmacy to confirm that they have received your prescription transfer before visiting. You may also be able to work with your new pharmacy and/or doctors office to have your prescriptions sent to a different pharmacy of your choosing.
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