The European Parliament, euro bloc countries and the Cypriot EU presidency failed to finalize a trade agreement with the United States on Wednesday, despite Trump’s warnings that he would soon impose new and higher duties without ratifying the deal, reports Euronews.
At issue is the euro bloc’s final approval of the deal Brussels and Washington reached almost a year ago in Scotland. In its framework, the EU agreed to cancel duties on American industrial goods, and the U.S. – to limit tariffs on most imported items from Europe at 15%. The EU, however, is still not pleased with the necessary legislative measures to implement this agreement, which irritates the White House.
The context of Trump’s duties
Last week, President Trump promised that he would impose 25 percent duties on products of the European car industry, and this is above the established threshold. Washington’s rationale is that European partners are stalling on ratifying the deal.
On Wednesday, negotiators tried to agree on a number of amendments to the transatlantic treaty, but to no avail. Consultations will continue on May 19.
The European Parliament earlier included robust safeguards in the EU-US agreement, but member states do not fully support them, although they generally agree on the need to protect European businesses from a potential change of heart in Washington. Bernd Lange, a German Socialist MEP, said the parties “still have some way to go,” but added that negotiators “have made progress on the safeguards mechanism, the review and evaluation of the basic regulation.”
Among the parliament’s important demands is to make the agreement temporary, it must be stopped in March 2028, a few months before the end of Trump’s second term.
