The European Parliament approved the U.S.-EU trade agreement reached in Turnberry, Scotland last summer, with certain conditions. However, internal procedures within the bloc require negotiations with member states before formal implementation can occur.
In the Turnberry agreement, the EU agreed to eliminate tariffs on most American imports, in exchange for a limit of 15% on the tariffs imposed by Trump on European products.
“I have patiently waited for the EU to fulfill its part of the Historic Trade Agreement we reached, the largest trade deal ever made,” wrote the U.S. president. “The EU has promised to fulfill its part of the contract and reduce its tariffs to ZERO,” he added. “I agreed to give them until our country’s 250th anniversary, otherwise, unfortunately, tariffs (practiced in the U.S.) would immediately skyrocket to much higher levels.” He described his call with Ursula von der Leyen as “very good.”
The United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of their Declaration of Independence from Great Britain on July 4th, considered the country’s birthdate. Last Friday, Donald Trump threatened the EU with new customs duties on cars and trucks exported to the U.S. In response, Brussels assured that the EU was honoring its part of the agreement, and that Washington had been kept informed “throughout the procedures” aimed at legislative approval.
Discussions between the Twenty-Seven and the European Parliament to finalize the trade agreement with the U.S. have progressed, but have not yet reached a conclusion at this stage, it was reported in Brussels from Wednesday night to Thursday. The Cypriot government, holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, reported “progress on a number of elements” and expressed a desire to continue this “positive momentum” in a new negotiation session with MEPs scheduled for May 19th.
