European Union (EU) lawmakers on Thursday approved the bloc's tariff deal with the United States, reached in July last year, after months of delay and with new safeguard conditions in place, reported Xinhua.
Lawmakers responsible for trade added several provisions to the original agreement, including a "sunset clause" under which the EU's tariff cuts will automatically expire on March 31, 2028. Tariff preferences for U.S. steel, aluminium and related products will apply only if the United States fulfills its commitment to reduce tariffs on corresponding EU goods to 15 percent or below, according to a press release.
They also strengthened a suspension clause, allowing the EU to halt trade preferences if the United States imposes tariffs above the agreed 15-percent ceiling or introduces new duties on EU goods.
The suspension clause may also be triggered if the United States undermines the objectives of the deal, discriminates against EU economic operators, threatens member states' territorial integrity or foreign and defence policies, or engages in economic coercion.
Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade, told a press conference after the vote that the suspension clause had been one of his main priorities. With these new provisions in place, he wrote on social media platform X that "new threats of tariffs or lack of benefits for EU manufacturers and consumers will lead to the legislation being phased out."
In addition, a safeguard mechanism was introduced, enabling the European Commission to suspend the new rules if a surge in U.S. imports risks causing serious harm to EU industry.
Under the 2025 deal, the EU will eliminate tariffs on all U.S. industrial products and introduce tariff-rate quotas for a wide range of U.S. agri-food products entering the EU market. In return, Washington will set a 15-percent tariff ceiling on most EU goods exported to the United States.
The Renew Europe group in the European Parliament said in a statement before the vote that the revised position strengthens the original proposal by making it "Trump-proof," with "no higher tariffs, no more threats of tariffs, and no security threats against EU member states."
Earlier this week, Andrew Puzder, the U.S. ambassador to the EU, told the Financial Times that the EU would risk losing "favourable" access to U.S. liquefied natural gas under the trade agreement if it attempted to modify other terms.
Sophie Wilmes, vice-chair of the European Parliament's Delegation for relations with the United States, said that as the U.S. administration lacks either the capacity or the willingness to provide a minimum degree of stability and predictability for transatlantic trade, "it is up to us, Europeans, to put our own safeguards in place to protect ourselves from the chaos of U.S. tariff policies, and even from certain threats."
The approval comes after months of delay, as lawmakers had resisted endorsing the deal amid transatlantic tensions over Greenland in January, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump's push to acquire the territory and his threats to impose tariffs on goods from eight European countries that opposed the move.
The process was further delayed after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that Trump's global tariffs were illegal, prompting him to propose new temporary tariffs to replace those struck down by the court.
Trump later launched new trade investigations into the EU and other partners in March, leading European lawmakers to seek additional safeguards in the agreement.
The European Parliament's approval marks the first step toward implementing the 2025 deal, and the bloc still needs to negotiate with member states before it can be put into effect.
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Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
