The representatives of the political groups of the European Parliament (EP) on Tuesday agreed on a common position on the trade agreement between the European Union and the United States. The move follows an easing of tensions over the dispute over the future of Greenland, TASR reports, according to reports from Euractiv.com, Euronews and Politico.
The vote on the position on the agreement should take place in the EP Committee on International Trade (INTA) on February 24. If approved, the vote would be moved to the March plenary session of the EP, which would be followed by difficult negotiations with member states in the Council of the EU.
The agreement of July last year, which was concluded in Turnberry, Scotland, by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the US President, Donald Trump, provides for duty-free import of American industrial goods into the EU. In return, the United States has pledged to apply a blanket tariff, capped at 15 percent, to most EU imports. The agreement requires the consent of the EP.
The European Parliament suspended approval of the trade deal in January after the US president’s comments on Greenland and the announcement of plans to impose tariffs on European countries that did not agree to his intention to acquire Greenland. After easing the tension, the MEPs tasked with working on the document on the final details of the opinion agreed on Tuesday behind closed doors.
Chairman of the INTA committee Bernd Lange from the group of socialists and democrats said that most political factions supported his key demands. These include a safeguard mechanism similar to the agreement with Mercosur, which would it allowed for the re-imposition of tariffs in the event of damage to domestic producers, as well as a clause allowing the agreement to be suspended in the event of a threat to the EU’s territorial sovereignty. The criteria for its application have not yet been specified. Part of the compromise also includes strengthening the EP’s role in overseeing the implementation of the agreement.
According to Lange, the agreement with the US would expire in March 2028 under the so-called sunset clause, which sets its duration at 24 months. On the issue of steel, Lange said the political groups agreed that The United States has violated the Scotland deal by imposing tariffs on more steel products from the EU. MEPs therefore agreed that the EU should automatically impose tariffs on steel products from the US, if Washington does not lift its measures within the next six months.
