US-EU trade deal not far from ECB's baseline forecast, Lagarde says

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The trade deal between the U.S. and the EU is close to the baseline assumed by the European Central Bank, but uncertainty persists in key sectors like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday.

The EU accepted 15% tariffs on most items in the deal agreed last month, averting an all-out trade war and providing businesses greater clarity, even if the new barriers slow economic growth.

“The trade deal establishes an effective average tariff estimated to lie between 12% and 16% for U.S. imports of euro area goods,” Lagarde said in Geneva.

“This effective average tariff is somewhat higher than – but still close to – the assumptions used in our baseline projections last June,” she said. “The outcome of the trade deal is well bel