The European Union will resume work to implement a framework trade agreement with the United States after halting efforts in response to tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Last month, Trump floated potential levies on eight European countries as part of his push to wrest control of Greenland, leading European Parliament members to vote to indefinitely suspend a pact reached with the U.S. in August in Turnberry, Scotland.
Although Trump later walked back the threat, the European legislative body maintained the freeze until Wednesday, when its International Trade Committee agreed to reopen deal implementation efforts, according to a press release.
As of now, the committee is focused on two specific proposals within the larger framework agreement, namely the removal of tariffs on U.S.-based industrial products and certain seafood and agricultural products, including lobster.
“Trade Committee members remain committed to advancing work on the two legislative proposals expeditiously, provided the US respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Union and its member states, and honours the terms of the Turnberry Deal,” Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee, said in the release.
Lange said the committee could vote on the proposals as soon as Feb. 24. He added that as the committee evaluates the proposals, it will also expand rules governing the EU’s ability to suspend the deal, particularly to address “threats to the essential security interests of the Union or its member states, including their territorial integrity.”
As the European Parliament continues to work through the proposals, the European Commission said Wednesday it would further suspend retaliatory duties on U.S. goods it first introduced last year prior to the Turnberry deal. Wednesday’s decision extends the suspension for another six months to Aug. 6 as the U.S. and EU continue efforts to implement provisions of the agreement.
The retaliatory measures were announced in response to the Trump administration’s implementation of new levies, including those on steel and automobiles. The commission in August suspended the countermeasures for six months as the two trading partners moved forward with the framework pact.
Although the Trump administration has secured similar framework deals with numerous trading partners, the dustup with the EU shows how fragile these alliances can be. Beyond threatening tariffs as a means of advancing his Greenland campaign, Trump also recently said he would hike levies to 25% on imports from South Korea, saying the country has not met the terms of a pact reached with the U.S. last year.
The U.S. has yet to publish official documentation of any potential tariff hikes, but earlier this week, South Korea Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources Jung-Kwan Kim met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to discuss the impasse.
“While the talks provided an opportunity to deepen mutual understanding of the U.S. intent behind the planned tariff increase and find middle ground, additional discussions with the U.S. side are still needed,” Kim said in a statement, adding that “the government will fully implement the Korea–U.S. tariff agreement to minimize trade uncertainties for Korean companies operating in the U.S. market.”
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