The European Union voted to advance the bloc’s trade deal with the US, clearing a major hurdle after weeks of delays.
EU lawmakers adopted the so-called Turnberry agreement, a framework that US President Trump and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reached in Scotland last August. US officials and diplomats had been pressuring the EU to implement the deal, warning that the US could cut off Europe’s “favorable” access to liquefied natural gas shipments if lawmakers did not pass the deal.
Under the agreement, Europe would remove tariffs on many US goods, including aircraft, chemicals, and agricultural products. In exchange, the US would impose a 15% rate on many European imports and maintain 50% duties on steel and aluminium. The deal also requires the EU to spend $750 billion on US energy products by 2028.
Implementation of the deal was halted in January after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s broadest tariffs, which he replaced with a different set of 10% tariffs. That uncertainty over US tariff policy, along with the president’s threats to annex Greenland, led Europe to freeze the ratification process.
As part of the vote on Thursday, EU lawmakers agreed to include new safeguards in the deal: a suspension clause that would suspend the deal if the US introduces new tariffs on the EU above the 15% rate and a sunrise clause that would have the deal expire in March 2028 unless both sides agree to extend it.
Next, the European Commission will negotiate with EU member states on those two proposals and the final text of the bill.