European parliament finally approves Trump tariff deal | European Union
The European Parliament gave final approval to the implementation of the tariff agreement signed with Donald Trump last July.
Faced with the threat that tariffs would be increased if the agreement was not approved by July 4, Members of the European Parliament agreed to ratify the agreement on two main conditions.
The first of these is the “update clause,” which means the deal will expire on December 31, 2029 unless renewed.
The second sets out “clear conditions” for tariff reductions on products containing some steel and aluminium; These are tariffs Trump imposed under national security laws, rather than the tariff regime he established on “liberation day” last April.
Under the agreement, the U.S. imposed a 15 percent rate on most EU exports, while the EU reduced import duties to 0 percent on some U.S. goods, some agricultural products and a wide range of seafood.
The agreement is expected to be formally adopted when EU leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday.
The European Parliament’s approval comes nearly a year after the original agreement was agreed to at Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland last July; The agreement was implemented immediately in the United States last summer, through a democratic process that stunned the US administration.
However, relations with the EU deteriorated when the US imposed tariffs on products containing steel or aluminum under the guise of national security concerns; A situation that Brussels frequently protests.
According to the text of the agreement voted in the European Parliament on Tuesday, the European Commission will be able to suspend tariff preferences on US goods until December 31, 2026 if the US continues to impose taxes on steel derivatives.
The commission will submit a report to the parliament on the issue by December 1.
By June 30, 2029, six months after the end of Trump’s presidency, the commission is now also required to make an assessment of the impact on EU industry of the 0% tariff on US goods imposed by parliament on agriculture and small and medium-sized businesses.
Lawmakers twice this year suspended the approval process through the international trade committee, first to protest Trump’s threat to impose higher tariffs in January and then to protest his threat to take over Greenland.
Although the US supreme court ruled that the 15% tariff at the heart of the agreement was illegal, the EU agreed to continue the agreement to provide stability for businesses and industry.
