Strasbourg (France) (AFP) – The European Parliament gave final approval Tuesday to a tariff deal with the United States as the EU seeks to close a volatile chapter of transatlantic trade relations. The EU and the United States clinched the agreement in July last year after US President Donald Trump’s tariffs blitz, setting levies on most of the bloc’s products at 15 percent even as Brussels agreed to zero tariffs for US industrial goods.
But the EU hesitated on fulfilling its side of the bargain, after Trump’s threats to seize Greenland and a US Supreme Court decision that struck down many of his tariffs. EU capitals have already endorsed the deal, meaning parliament’s approval was the final political step before its implementation. It puts the bloc on track to meet Trump’s July 4 deadline for ratification or face his threat of new tariffs on European vehicles.
The biggest forces in the parliament, including the conservative European People’s Party (EPP) to which EU chief Ursula von der Leyen belongs, endorsed the agreement. Around 440 EU lawmakers backed the deal, with 151 against and 50 abstaining during the vote in the parliament in Strasbourg. There are now only formal steps — a final rubber stamp by member states, expected in the coming days, and publication in the EU’s official journal — for it to take effect.
“With this milestone, we are days away from fulfilling our commitment to remove tariffs on imports of US industrial goods,” von der Leyen said on social media. “With full implementation on both sides, our agreement will deliver even more benefits for citizens and businesses,” she said.
– ‘Foundation for stability’ –
After Trump returned to the White House last year, he unleashed a barrage of duties and levies targeting the steel, aluminium and auto sectors. Seeking lower levies, von der Leyen scrambled to get a deal with Trump in the hope of reducing trade tensions with the EU’s largest trade partner — a relationship worth $2 trillion a year.
But parliament introduced a series of safeguards into the text, including an expiration date of end-2029 for the agreement unless it is renewed. Another “safety net” measure gives the European Commission, in charge of EU trade policy, the power to suspend the pact if the United States fails to meet its commitments or disrupts trade and investment.
“This agreement is still far from perfect, but it is considerably stronger,” trade committee head Bernd Lange said in a statement. “The European Parliament will continue to closely monitor the implementation of this agreement,” he said. He later told a press conference that in case of a breach “we can really re-establish our normal curbs on the products coming from the United States”.
Centrist EU lawmaker Karin Karlsbro said she was proud the parliament “stood up to Trump’s coercive tactics”. She warned that it “will not be the last debate on transatlantic trade, but we have laid the foundation for stability while Trump continues to create chaos”.
The EPP said the approval would deepen transatlantic ties. “I call on the commission to continue its effective engagement with the United States to unlock further market access, advance trade liberalisation, and support the competitiveness of European businesses,” said Jorgen Warborn, the EPP group spokesman on international trade.
© 2024 AFP
