[Photo/Agencies]
The European Union is finally ready to implement the trade deal it struck with the United States almost a year ago, heading off a slew of new tariffs that Washington had threatened to introduce on July 4.
The breakthrough came early on Wednesday, after five hours of talks, when EU lawmakers and member states struck a compromise among factions in the bloc that dislike the deal and factions that feel they can agree on a way forward.
The EU-US trade deal, which was agreed upon by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland on July 27, calls for 15 percent import taxes to be levied on most imports into the US from the 27-nation bloc, while a zero percent tariff will be applied to US exports to the EU.
The deal, which many EU lawmakers saw as lopsided, has since sat in the EU Parliament awaiting implementation, while lawmakers haggled over possibly amending it. It was also held up by EU lawmakers protesting against US plans to take control of Greenland.
