The EU-US trade deal is back on the European Parliament’s agenda after lawmakers said the USA had pulled back from recent tariff threats and toned down rhetoric about Greenland, easing a political standoff that had frozen the file in Strasbourg.
Why the European Parliament paused the EU-US trade deal
The Parliament’s trade committee (INTA) had put its work on the agreement on hold in late January, after USA President Donald Trump threatened additional tariffs against some EU member states and framed Denmark’s Greenland as a bargaining chip in transatlantic negotiations.
The freeze was meant as a political signal: for many MEPs, trade policy cannot be decoupled from territorial integrity and alliance politics, particularly when a member state is directly targeted.
Bernd Lange’s conditions: sovereignty first, trade second
Bernd Lange, the German MEP who chairs the European Parliament’s trade committee, said the committee is ready to move forward as long as the USA respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the EU and its member states.
In practice, lawmakers are expected to seek safeguards in the implementing text—options discussed publicly include a suspension clause if new tariff threats emerge or if a member state’s security is put under pressure.
What the EU-US agreement contains: a 15% USA tariff ceiling
The trade deal, agreed in summer 2025, is built around a 15% USA tariff ceiling for most EU exports, designed to prevent higher, sector-by-sector duties and to provide predictability for businesses.
According to the European Commission, the agreement would also set zero or near-zero tariffs for selected product groups, while leaving some sensitive areas—such as metals—subject to separate arrangements.
The framework has been politically controversial because it is widely seen as asymmetric: the USA keeps a broad tariff cap, while the EU commits to significant tariff reductions and regulatory cooperation in several areas.
Next steps in Brussels and Strasbourg
The resumption of committee work does not mean ratification is imminent. The trade committee is expected to continue technical scrutiny and political negotiations in the coming weeks, before a vote that would then need to be followed by a plenary decision in the European Parliament.
The agreement also interacts with the EU executive’s role in trade policy: the European Commission negotiates on behalf of the bloc, but Parliament has the power to approve or reject major trade deals, and political conditions can shape the final outcome.
A wider Arctic backdrop: Greenland, transatlantic pressure, and EU unity
The episode underlines how the Arctic has become more closely tied to European politics. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and occupies a strategic position for defence, minerals, and shipping routes.
For EU institutions, the pause-and-resume sequence is also a test of unity: it shows how trade tools can be used to respond to political pressure, while still keeping open a channel with Washington on a file that affects multiple industries.
As Parliament resumes its work, the key question will be whether the safeguards demanded by MEPs can be built into the process without triggering a new escalation—and whether the deal, in its current balance, can win a stable majority in Strasbourg.
