EU lawmakers advance US trade deal with multiple safeguards
European Parliament approved the deal with safeguards including a sunset clause ending tariff concessions by March 2028 amid concerns over US tariff threats and trade volatility.
- On Thursday, March 26, 2026, European Union lawmakers approved a tariff deal with President Donald Trump, attaching conditions to protect the bloc's interests within their $1.9 trillion relationship.
- Trump's 2025 tariff blitz on steel and aluminum jolted the 27-country bloc, causing months of delays as lawmakers resisted the accord due to transatlantic tensions over Greenland and legal disputes.
- Brussels and Washington set tariffs at 15 percent for most goods; new safeguards mandate reductions lapse in March 2028 and link cuts to U.S. actions.
- European trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic welcomed the vote as a 'crucial step' and will meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Friday in Cameroon.
- Spurred by Trump, the EU is building a free trade network with Australia and India to resist 'coercion,' a strategy economist Andre Sapir of the Bruegel think tank calls a 'defensive dimension.
136 Articles
136 Articles
Negotiators of the new text submitted to the Commission and the Member States have added clauses intended to protect Donald Trump's wanderings. Although fragile, these safeguards do not invalidate the disastrous nature of the political signal sent by MEPs.
The EU's trade agreement with the US, with tariffs of 15 percent, creates predictability for European companies, says European Parliament President Roberta Metsola during a visit to Sweden. - Is it perfect? No. Do we have a better agreement than any other part of the world in this regard today? Yes.
With some significant safeguards: the reduction of European duties is bound to Washington's compliance with the commitment not to exceed the 15% tariff ceiling, the concessions will expire on 31 March 2028 in an attempt to keep pressure on the US authorities
For more than a year, the EU has been wrestling with Donald Trump in the right way. In order to protect itself from the erratic president, protective mechanisms are to be incorporated into the US customs deal.
The customs deal between the US and the EU is being postponed twice, but now the agreement overcomes an important hurdle in the EU Parliament. Clear conditions are set.
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