STRASBOURG (Reuters) -The European Union got the best trade deal available with the United States and secured EU businesses an advantage over many foreign rivals, the head of the European Commission said on Wednesday.

“We ensured that Europe got the best possible deal out there. We have put our companies at a relative advantage. Because some of our direct competitors face much higher US tariffs,” Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament.

Several lawmakers have criticised the deal, under which the EU will lower its duties, while the United States sets a broad 15% tariff on EU goods. The parliament will vote in the coming months on the Commission’s proposal to remove EU duties on U.S. industrial goods.

Von der Leyen said that some competitors had secured lower U.S. baseline tarif

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