After a long series of advances and setbacks, the controversial EU-US trade deal could soon be approved by the European Parliament.
Negotiators from the Parliament’s political groups met on Tuesday with Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič to discuss the recent developments, and according to sources, they are set to strike an agreement in the next meeting on March 17. If so, the deal would be voted on two days later in the Committee on International Trade, eventually get the final green light by the Parliament’s Plenary on March 26.
Commissioner Šefčovič urged lawmakers on Tuesday to move ahead even after US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs that put the entire agreement’s terms in doubt.
The 10 percent duties on imports from US allies, including the EU, announced by Trump in February, froze the approval process, which had already been halted once due to Trump’s claims over Greenland.
The fresh tariffs came on top of duties that were already in place before Trump returned to power in 2025, which averaged 4.8 percent.
As a result, around 7 percent of European goods face tariffs above the 15 percent ceiling agreed last summer by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trump, with some products – such as cheese – being hit with duties as high as 30 percent.
The Parliament nonetheless decided to resume work, encouraged by the Trade Commissioner, but it has kept asking for clarity from the US administration on the topic.
After several meetings, the political groups’ negotiators seem ready to agree on a text to be voted on. It includes a “sunset clause”, which would see EU tariff relief expire at the end of March 2028, unless explicitly renewed, and a “suspension clause”, which would be activated in the event the US violates the deal’s rules.
The last details remain to be fine-tuned, including a “sunrise clause” proposed by the European People’s Party negotiator Jörgen Warborn.
“This clause makes sure that the deal doesn’t kick in before it is confirmed that all the elements of the deal are upheld”, he told Euronews, adding that the instability brought by the war in the Middle East makes this and other trade deals even more urgent.
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