Officials hope approval by European Parliament closes book on volatile period
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump attend the meeting where the tariff deal was made in July last year. (Photo: AFP)
STRASBOURG, France - The European Parliament gave final approval on Tuesday to a tariff deal with the United States as the EU seeks to close a volatile chapter of transatlantic trade relations.The EU and the United States clinched the agreement in July last year after US President Donald Trump’s tariffs blitz, setting levies on most of the bloc’s products at 15% even as Brussels agreed to zero tariffs for US industrial goods.
But the EU hesitated on fulfilling its side of the bargain, after Trump’s threats to seize Greenland and a US Supreme Court decision that struck down many of his tariffs.
EU capitals have already endorsed the deal, meaning parliament’s approval was the final political step before its implementation.
