The Council and the European Parliament reached a compromise on the implementation of the trade agreement with the United States adopted in August 2025. Donald Trump gave the EU until July 4 to ratify the text and threatened the 27 with new 25% tariffs on cars if they did not fulfill their commitments.
Under pressure from Donald Trump, the European Union reached a provisional compromise on Wednesday to implement the trade agreement concluded last year with the United States, hoping to close a tumultuous chapter in transatlantic relations.
“The Council and the Parliament have reached an agreement on the implementation of the provisions concerning customs duties of the joint declaration” EU-United States adopted on August 21, 2025, wrote the Cypriot presidency of the EU in a statement.
Representatives of MEPs and the 27 Member States started these new closed-door discussions in the evening, in a room at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, after an unsuccessful attempt in early May. The Cypriot presidency of the EU finally announced a “provisional agreement” on Wednesday morning.
The European Union keeps its commitments
The US president gave the EU until July 4, the day that will mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, to ratify the agreement negotiated last year at Turnberry, Scotland. Arguing that the US commitments were quickly implemented, he threatened the EU with increasing tariffs on European cars and trucks from 15% to 25%.
“Today, the European Union keeps its commitments,” trumpeted Michael Damianos, Cypriot Minister of Energy, Commerce, and Industry, in a statement. “Maintaining a stable, predictable, and balanced transatlantic partnership is in the interest of both parties,” he added.
In its pact with Washington, the EU committed to removing tariffs on most imports from the United States in exchange for capping at 15% the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump on European products. But last month, the Parliament demanded a set of safeguards that were difficult for member states to endorse, eager to avoid a new outburst from the White House.
Blockage points
One of the sticking points concerned a reinforced suspension clause, which provided for the removal of favorable customs conditions granted to American exporters if the US were to violate the terms of the agreement.
MEPs agreed to revise these requirements downwards. According to a statement from the European Parliament, the final text gives the United States until the end of the year to remove the surcharges over 15% on steel components, instead of making it a precondition.
Another point of contention concerned the so-called “sunrise” and “sunset” clauses, under which the European party of the agreement would enter into force as soon as the US fully met its commitments, and would expire unless renewed in 2028. The “sunrise” clause was simply removed, while the “sunset” clause was pushed back to the end of 2029.
Suspension mechanism
Bernd Lange, President of the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament, rose to the challenge of finding common ground among the different parliamentary groups, who negotiated until the last moment. Lange played down the concessions, saying after the announcement of the agreement that “the Parliament has prevailed with its demands for a comprehensive safety net.”
“There is a suspension mechanism if the US does not respect the agreement, a mechanism to monitor the impact on our economy, provisions concerning unjustified tariffs on certain products, an expiration date for the legislation, and strong involvement of the European Parliament,” he emphasized.
While the European Parliament was quick to move towards ratifying the agreement with the United States, the process was also hindered in recent months by Donald Trump’s ambitions on Greenland and the legal setback on tariffs imposed by the Supreme Court.
Several European countries have further angered the White House in recent weeks due to their opposition or criticism of the war in Iran. However, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, assured that “an agreement is an agreement,” and that the EU would uphold its commitments to preserve relations with its top trading partner.
