The European Parliament’s trade chief will propose freezing the ratification process of the European Union’s trade deal with the US until they’ve received details from President Donald Trump’s administration on its trade policy.
Bernd Lange, chairman of the parliament’s trade committee, said he’ll propose suspending legislative work on approving the so-called Turnberry Agreement at an emergency meeting on Monday “until we have a comprehensive legal assessment and clear commitments from the US.”
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“Pure customs chaos on the part of the US government,” Lange wrote on social media Sunday. “Nobody can make sense of it anymore – only unanswered questions and growing uncertainty for the EU and other US trading partners.”
The about-face in parliament comes after the US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s use of an emergency-powers law to impose his so-called reciprocal tariffs around the world. The parliamentary committee froze the approval process once before after Trump threatened to annex Greenland.
Photo Credit: Bloomberg News
The deal struck last summer between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen would impose a 15% tariff rate on most EU exports to the US while removing tariffs on American goods heading into the bloc. The US would also continue to impose a 50% tariff on European steel and aluminum imports.
The bloc struck the lopsided deal last summer in the hopes of avoiding a full-blown trade war and retaining US security backing, particularly with regards to Ukraine. Parliament had been aiming to ratify the agreement in March.
After Friday’s supreme court ruling, Trump said he would institute a 10% global tariff to maintain protective trade measures on the rest of the world. On Saturday, he said he would increase that rate to 15%, stirring up more economic turbulence and uncertainty about US policy.
Trump’s new tariffs will be based on Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which allows the president to impose tariffs for 150 days without congressional approval.
Lange asked if implementing those tariffs would contravene the Turnberry deal.
“Clarity and legal certainty are required before further steps can be taken,” he said.
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