EU states sign off on deal to implement US trade pact
The EU's 27 member states Wednesday formally approved a compromise with the European Parliament to implement a trade deal with the United States, which now needs only a final sign off from lawmakers to enter into force.
The accord struck last July caps US levies on most European goods at 15 percent, but to President Donald Trump's frustration the bloc had yet to make good on its pledge to scrap levies on most American imports in return.
But a compromise negotiated between EU capitals and lawmakers last week put the bloc on track to meet Trump's July 4 deadline to implement the deal or face punitive new levies.
Diplomats meeting in Brussels formally approved the text, which lawmakers are to officially back when they meet in Strasbourg in mid-June.
