Lawmakers on the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade on Tuesday approved legislation eliminating EU duties on most US industrial goods, paving the way for a final adoption of the EU-US deal in plenary later this month.
The two legislative files which formed the deal were both approved by a large majority: the first one with 31 votes in favour, six against, and three abstentions; the second one with 31 votes in favour, six against, and three abstentions.
The vote comes a week after EU lawmakers and EU capitals already struck a provisional deal to implement the agreement struck last summer by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland.
Trump has said he would impose 25% tariffs on EU cars if the bloc failed to implement the agreement by 4 July, the 250th anniversary of the United States.
“We are sticking to our deal, but we are also clear that if the other side is breaching this deal, we have a lot of possibilities”, Socialist German MEP Bernd Lange, the lead negotiator for the Parliament, said ahead of the vote, referring to the safeguards included in the final text.
Under the EU-US deal, the EU agreed on a 15% US tariff rate while committing to reducing its own tariffs on US products entering the bloc to zero.
The Turnberry agreement, which many MEPs viewed as lopsided, became the subject of tough negotiations between EU diplomats and the Parliament, as lawmakers sought to introduce provisions to protect the deal against potential future US breaches.
However, several safeguards championed by Parliament were ultimately watered down.
MEPs had pushed for a “sunset” clause that would have terminated the deal after March 2028 unless it was renewed. Instead, the final compromise reached with EU member states includes a sunset clause ending the agreement on 31 December 2029.
Lawmakers have instead secured a provision allowing the European Commission to suspend the trade deal at the request of either Parliament or a member state if the US fails to lift tariffs on European steel and aluminium by the end of 2026.
The approval process has been heavily influenced by the US administration’s claims over Greenland and repeated tariff threats, which have raised concerns among several MEPs.
The final adoption of the agreement is scheduled for 16 June.