EU-U.S. Trade Deal on Hold Due to Trump’s Arctic Ambitions

(MENAFN) The European Parliament postponed until next week its determination on whether to resume proceedings for the EU-U.S. trade agreement after suspending the approval process last week to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's Greenland acquisition ambitions and tariff warnings targeting European partners, a senior legislator revealed Monday.

Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade, confirmed via X that lawmakers declined to reinstate standard EU-U.S. legislative workflows Monday. He stated the Parliament's negotiating team will meet on Feb. 4 to reassess the situation.

The European Parliament halted ratification of the transatlantic trade pact Jan. 21 following American tariff threats connected to Greenland.

Diplomatic friction subsequently diminished after Washington disclosed that a "framework deal" had been reached on Greenland-related issues and that threatened tariffs on eight European countries would be suspended.

The EU-U.S. trade agreement finalized last July stipulates the European Union will abolish duties on all American industrial goods while implementing tariff-rate quotas for numerous U.S. agricultural and food products entering EU markets. Conversely, Washington would establish a 15-percent tariff cap on most European Union exports to the United States.

The parliamentary delay underscores ongoing transatlantic economic uncertainties as European officials weigh Trump's trade policy unpredictability against potential benefits of the comprehensive commercial arrangement between the world's two largest economic blocs.

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