EU clears major hurdle to finalizing US trade deal

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday welcomed a temporary legislative deal to lift US tariffs and called on lawmakers to act quickly to complete the deal.

EU lawmakers welcomed the breakthrough after more than five hours of talks overnight, saying it could pave the way for the 27-nation bloc to avoid US President Donald Trump’s threat to punish further delays with higher tariffs.

The deal includes a safeguard mechanism that would allow Brussels to suspend tariff cuts if US imports hurt European industry.

It also allows the European Commission, the EU’s governing body, to suspend tariff preferences if the US continues to apply tariffs of more than 15% on EU steel and aluminum exports until the end of 2026.

The tentative deal comes nearly a year after the EU and US struck a trade deal at Trump’s golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland. Under the terms of the deal, the EU agreed to waive tariffs on US industrial goods, while the Trump administration agreed to impose a 15% tariff on most European goods.

“A deal is a deal, and the EU respects its commitments,” von der Leyen of the EU said on Wednesday via X. “Together, we can ensure a stable, predictable, balanced, and mutually beneficial transatlantic trade.”

EU lawmakers have paused their talks twice after Trump in January threatened to annex Greenland, Denmark’s sovereign territory, and in February after the Supreme Court struck down a large part of Trump’s far-reaching tax agenda.

Earlier this month, the US president said he would give the EU until July 4 to ratify its trade deal with Washington, threatening to raise tariffs to record levels if it fails to do so.

He also pledged to increase the tax on cars and trucks from the EU to 25%, accusing the organization of not following the terms of the Turnberry Agreement.

The EU is now expected to meet Trump’s July 4 deadline, with a final ratification vote expected in mid-June.

Europe “avoided a damaging escalation of trade tensions and protected European companies, investments and millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Željana Zovko, the lead negotiator of the European People’s Party on the US trade agreement, on Wednesday.

Bernd Lange, the European Parliament’s chief trade negotiator, described the process as a “difficult journey” but worth it.

“By putting the commitments under the joint statement into law, this regulation becomes part of the EU’s tools to improve EU-US relations but also responds to pressure,” Lange said in a statement.