EU Parliament Gives Conditional Nod to EU-US Trade Deal

The European Parliament has supported a law to enact an EU-US trade agreement, after several months of uncertainty regarding President Donald Trump's tariff warnings.
Most legislators supported the measures, but included several protections to guarantee the US fulfills its obligations from the agreement made last July.
The law would impose tariffs of 15 percent on most EU products—reduced from the previously suggested 30 percent—in return for European investment in the US and the elimination of EU tariffs on US industrial products.
The vote follows several months of postponement due to Trump's threats to annex Greenland and a US Supreme Court decision declaring some of his tariffs illegal.
The legislation was supported by the EU assembly with a vote of 417 in favor, 154 against, and 71 abstentions.
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The document must receive approval from all 27 member states of the bloc prior to its implementation, with a final vote anticipated in April or May.
Legislators took steps to enhance its protections, adding a clause to halt the agreement if the US enforces extra tariffs exceeding 15 percent or implements new duties on EU products. Another would pause the agreement if the US jeopardized the EU's territorial integrity.
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MEPs also incorporated a "sunrise clause" stipulating that EU tariff reductions will only be implemented if the US honors its commitments, including reducing tariffs to 15 percent on EU goods containing less than 50 percent steel and aluminum.
When the framework agreement was revealed last summer, Trump stated that the 50 percent US tariff on worldwide steel and aluminium would continue to be imposed on the EU.
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However, on Thursday, the parliament decided it will only agree to zero tariffs on US products if numerous European items made of steel and aluminum are exempt from that 50 percent tariff.




