Europe is to be flooded with American cars and energy after Brussels struck an eleventh-hour trade deal with Donald Trump. Under the terms of a pact announced on Sunday, the European Union will face 15 per cent tariffs on exports to the US, staving off a full-blown trade war after months of negotiations.

European companies were left wondering on Monday whether to cheer a hard-won U.S. trade deal or lament a still sharp jump in tariffs versus those in place before President Donald Trump's second term.

The framework agreement will likely not do much for economic growth on either side. But it avoids new fissures on other foreign policy issues, particularly the war in Ukraine.