The trade agreement between the European Union and the United States has once again come under question: the European Parliament’s trade committee has decided not to resume its ratification procedure. Brussels expects clear guarantees from Washington to preserve the agreed terms after a US court ruled US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs illegal. This was reported by Bloomberg.
Last summer, the parties agreed that the US would apply a 15% tariff on most goods from EU countries, and the European Union would abolish a significant part of the tariffs on American industrial products. At the same time, the 50% tariff on European steel and aluminum remained in force.
Despite the agreements reached, the document was never formally ratified and was only partially implemented. The situation became more complicated in February after the US Supreme Court ruled that the legal basis for Trump’s so-called “reciprocal tariffs” had been overturned.
The US administration then imposed a temporary 10% tariff on all imports while US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer conducts an investigation under Section 301, which allows for trade sanctions against countries with alleged unfair trade practices.
Greer said the ultimate goal is to “recreate the tariff rates agreed with the EU and other partners under previous agreements,” but the mechanism for doing so has not yet been determined.
“We will let the US know that we want to be sure that that they are adhering to the agreement,” said Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament’s trade committee and chief negotiator on the issue.
On March 17, MEPs plan to reconsider the issue of further ratification. They will also hear the position of the European Commission, which is responsible for EU trade policy, next week.
