EU Parliament approves implementation of US tariff deal under pressure from Trump

Diplomats and MEPs reached an agreement late on Tuesday to implement the contentious EU-US agreement, which eliminates duties on most US industrial goods imported into Europe.

The negotiations concluded two weeks after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on EU cars if Europeans did not implement the agreement — clinched by Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland, last summer — by 4 July.

The so-called "Turnberry Agreement," criticised by MEPs as unbalanced, raises US tariffs on EU goods to as much as 15%.

“The EU and the United States share the world’s largest and most integrated economic relationship. Maintaining a stable, predictable and balanced transatlantic partnership is in the interest of both sides," Cyprus trade Minister Michael Damianos said, adding: "Today, the European Union delivers on its commitments."

MEPs had kept the deal frozen for several weeks following Trump’s threats over Greenland earlier this year. They also suspended it after the US adopted new tariffs following a Supreme Court ruling that declared illegal the tariffs imposed by the White House since Trump’s return to power.

Demanding clarity from the Americans, EU lawmakers finally agreed to enter into negotiations with the EU Cyprus presidency — representing EU member states — after the Commission assured them that the US would honour its side of the agreement and cap its tariffs at 15%, as agreed.

In the final compromise text, the Commission would be able to suspend the trade agreement — at the request of either Parliament or a member state — if the US fails to lift tariffs on European steel and aluminium products by the end of 2026.

However, MEPs agreed to approve the deal even though some view the attached conditions as having been substantially weakened. Therefore, it remains unclear whether the current version of the text would pass the final vote in plenary in June.

MEPS have been fighting to include safeguards that would make EU tariff cuts conditional on the US implementing its side of the agreement.

They have also been pushing for a “sunset clause” that would terminate the deal in March 2028 unless renewed. On Tuesday, they agreed it will expire on 31 December 2029 and that it would be up to the Commission to rule whether the US is in breach of Turnberry and present a legislative proposal ”to extend the regulation’s duration."