EU lawmakers moved to advance the EU–US trade agreement after months of resisting pressure from Washington and the European Commission on Tuesday.
The shift is significant as it kickstarts a process long held by delays due to fundamental disagreements between Brussels and Washington, amplified by their different positions on almost everything – from trade and digital rules to Greenland and now Iran.
Members of the European Parliament had resisted continuing the process to implement an agreement seen as lopsided in favour of the US.
Still, despite legal and political concerns, they have decided to restart it.
“There was a broad understanding from more or less all political groups supporting my compromise and this is a big achievement,” German MEP Bernd Lange (S&D), chair of the trade committee, told journalists, adding: “Therefore, we will go for the vote on Thursday in the committee.”
The agreement struck last summer by Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and President Donald Trump imposes 15% US tariffs on EU goods while Europe agrees to cut its own tariffs to zero. Brussels initially sold it as the best of negative scenarios.
MEPs’ resistance in recent months stemmed from what they see as erratic trade policy coming from the White House since launching an aggressive global agenda last year following Liberation Day. The deal was thrown into disarray after the US Supreme Court declared Trump’s initial “reciprocal” tariffs as illegal at the start of the year.
Lawmakers negotiated until the last minute a compromise including a clause allowing the EU to suspend the agreement in case of threats to its territorial integrity, following Trump’s constant threats if European countries refused to let him takeover Greenland in January when tensions peaked over the territory belonging to member state Denmark.
A sunset clause is also included in the compromise pushed by Lange, under which EU tariff relief would expire at the end of March 2028 unless the deal is explicitly renewed.
Uncertainty over the final vote at the Parliament
The February ruling by the Supreme Court added further uncertainty, declaring the initial US tariffs illegal and therefore questioning the terms of the deal inked between Washington and Brussels. Fresh tariffs — pushing duties above 15% seen as a maximum rate by the EU — led MEPs, whose approval is required, to keep the agreement on hold and delay the process multiple times back-to-back.
Despite the US launching an investigation last week against the EU into alleged unfair trade practices, the Commission insists the bloc must stick to the deal, and EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič has called on lawmakers to move ahead with the vote repeatedly.
The question now is whether the process can move fast enough for the deal to be approved by the full European Parliament by the end of March, as requested by the Commission. Political groups remain divided with April floated as an option too.
“I don’t like playing games. Now we have promises from the White House and everything that [we need],” Željana Zovko, lead negotiator for the European People’s Party, told journalists in Brussels, accusing some MEPs of seeking to delay final approval for political reasons unrelated to the terms of the agreement itself.
Socialists and Democrats and other left-leaning groups are pushing for more time to hold more internal discussions, looking to postpone a decision until at least April.
“My group asked for some more time to discuss it among the different members,” said Lange, acknowledging that some lawmakers still need convincing.
According to internal sources, French and Italian Socialists are among the most reluctant to endorse the deal, which they see as suboptimal for Europe facing Trump.