EU-US trade agreement/ Tuesday evening, crucial for approval
The European Parliament and EU countries are preparing for the final phase of negotiations on a trade deal with the US, in crucial talks amid growing pressure from the Donald Trump administration. On Tuesday at 9pm, in the Parliament in Strasbourg, lawmakers and diplomats will again discuss the implementation of the agreement, which will reduce European tariffs on US goods to zero and set a 15% cap on US tariffs on European products. Time is running out, as the agreement must be finalised before June to be approved by the next plenary session of the Parliament in the same month and to meet the deadline set by Trump.
After a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week, the US president said he would give the EU until July 4 to implement its commitments before raising tariffs on EU goods, including cars, to "much higher levels".
Meanwhile, Parliament and the Council have reached a provisional agreement to make the trade agreement suspendable in the event of a market disruption caused by a surge in US imports, but other details remain to be determined and political groups are not fully aligned.
The European Parliament wants the agreement to start only after Washington meets the 15% tariff threshold, while the Commission and some member states prefer it to start immediately.
The restart clause was introduced by MEPs after a US Supreme Court ruling in February declared the 2025 US tariffs illegal, prompting Washington to impose new tariffs on EU goods that are now on average above the agreed ceiling, thus violating the deal.
MEPs also want the EU to be able to suspend the agreement in the event of threats to the EU's territorial integrity, such as those made by Trump earlier this year. But the Commission opposes this provision. Negotiations are also ongoing on an expiry date for the agreement, with EU lawmakers proposing March 2028.
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