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The European Commission insisted on Thursday that “progress” had been made in late-night talks with MEPs and member state officials on implementing last August’s EU-US trade deal, and that the process remained “fully in line with standard legislative practice”.
But inside the room, negotiators were far apart on what is still needed.
Nine months after the controversial agreement was struck at the Turnberry golf course between Brussels and Washington, the deal remains bogged down in fraught negotiations between MEPs, the Commission and EU member states, with divisions hardening just as Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Europe with fresh tariff threats.
The agreement would scrap EU tariffs on US industrial goods and limit US tariffs to 15%, but at the weekend, Trump, frustrated at the delays, threatened to charge by 25% European cars and trucks, if the EU fails to put the deal into force.
Yet Wednesday night’s trilogue negotiations between EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, MEPs and EU national governments broke down after six hours of talks, amid fierce resistance from several political groups in the European Parliament. Although Šefčovič hailed “constructive mood” in the room, the deadlock means a new meeting is now set for 19 May.
While the Commission and most EU countries want the deal to be approved swiftly, MEPs refused to compromise during the talks, demanding safeguard mechanisms in case Washington violates the deal with new tariffs. The negotiators also failed to agree on the MEP demand for a suspension clause, which would allow the EU to freeze the agreement immediately if Trump threatens the EU’s territorial integrity, as he did earlier this year when he suggested the US could annex Greenland.
Another measure sought by MEPs is a safeguard if a flood of US imports distorts competition inside the EU’s Single Market. And the Parliament’s chief negotiator, German MEP Bernd Lange, told the negotiators that the EU needed a sunset clause, which would automatically expire tariff relief at the end of March 2028, unless explicitly renewed.
MEPs pushed back against calls to rubber stamp the deal, saying they would not be rushed, despite the combined pressure from governments, the Commission, industry and the US. Indeed, they say Trump’s own threats – and his erratic behaviour – make safeguards even more necessary.
“We are not here to be bullied. It takes some time, but this is the regular legislative EU process, and we are working constructively,” a S&D source told Euronews.
“The Parliament is not blocking the agreement, we are working on implementing it,” Greens/EFA MEP Anna Cavazzini told Euronews.
However, Parliament officials told Euronews they were confident the deal could be approved within the next two weeks, with MEPs considering an extraordinary meeting next week to speed up the process.
“The earlier we can close the trial of negotiations, the earlier we give clarity for businesses and indeed more predictability in a turbulent situation,” European People’s Party’s MEP Jörgen Warborn, one of the deal’s negotiators, told Euronews.