European Parliament Approves Long-Delayed US Tariff Deal, Closing Trade Standoff

A year-long standoff finally closes

The European Parliament voted on Tuesday to ratify the transatlantic tariff agreement struck last summer, ending nearly a year of brinkmanship between the world's two largest trading partners. Lawmakers backed the main legislative act by 440 votes to 151, with 50 abstentions, clearing the last significant hurdle to implementing the European Union's side of the deal.reuters +1 The vote came just days before a July 4 deadline that US President Donald Trump had set, threatening "much higher" tariffs unless Brussels acted.reuters

The agreement was brokered in July 2025 at Trump's Turnberry golf course in Scotland by the president and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.reuters Under its terms, the EU removes import duties on most US industrial goods and grants preferential access for a range of agricultural and seafood products, while the US caps tariffs on European exports at 15%.theguardian +1 "A deal is a deal — and the EU is delivering its part," von der Leyen said.reuters

Lawmakers attach safeguards to a deal they call lopsided

Many MEPs have criticised the arrangement as imbalanced in Washington's favour, and Parliament extracted concessions before signing off.brusselstimes A "sunset clause" will end the EU's commitments on 31 December 2029 unless they are renewed, and the Commission can suspend tariff preferences if the US raises duties beyond 15%, fails to meet agreed objectives, or discriminates against European companies.theguardian +1 Brussels can also withdraw concessions if Washington does not lower its tariffs on European steel and aluminium to the agreed cap by the end of 2026.theguardian

Lawmakers had twice frozen ratification this year — first over Trump's threats to raise tariffs in January, then over his bid to acquire Greenland.theguardian "We have a strong suspension clause, so that if the US breaches the deal, we come back to our tariff system," German MEP Bernd Lange said.euronews

The transatlantic tariff saga is not over

The vote averts Trump's July 4 threat, but uncertainty remains on the American side. Washington has yet to put its 15% tariffs in place and plans to do so by July 24, after the US Supreme Court struck down Trump's earlier global tariffs.reuters The president has also kept up pressure on individual member states, threatening on Monday to slap 100% tariffs on French wine and champagne unless Paris scraps its digital tax on US tech firms.reuters +1

Industry groups in Germany, the EU's biggest exporter to the United States, broadly welcomed the vote while insisting the onus is now on Washington to honour Turnberry in full.reuters EU leaders are expected to formally adopt the deal when they meet in Brussels on Thursday.theguardian