The European Union agreed to ratify the trade agreement with the US after several months of disputes and pressure from Washington. The compromise was reached just hours before the risk of a new round of trade conflict.
Representatives of the European Parliament and EU member states reached an agreement on the ratification of a trade deal between the EU and the US late on Wednesday night, a deal that was concluded last summer.
Negotiations continued until late at night and were marked by sharp disagreements within the EU. However, in the end, the parties managed to find a compromise and agree on the final version of the document.
The decision became particularly important after the recent statement by US President Donald Trump, who demanded that the EU complete ratification by July 4. Otherwise, Washington threatened to sharply increase import tariffs on European goods.
The trade agreement between the EU and the US was signed in July of last year. It stipulates that for most goods from the EU, the import tariff rate in the US will be 15%.
In fact, this is an attempt to stabilize trade relations between the two largest economies in the West after more than a year of tense negotiations and threats of mutual restrictions.
To achieve consensus among all EU countries, the European Parliament had to abandon some amendments to the agreement. Some of these were deemed unacceptable by the US.
At the same time, the head of the European Parliament's trade committee, Bernd Lange, stated that the Parliament managed to secure additional mechanisms to protect the interests of the EU.
According to him, the agreement includes the possibility of suspending its action if the US violates the terms of the deal. There is also a mechanism for monitoring the impact of the agreement on the European economy and oversight by the European Parliament.
Importantly, for European businesses, this agreement means greater predictability. In recent months, companies in the EU have feared new American tariffs that could hit exports and industry.
The largest faction in the European Parliament, the European People's Party, was particularly active in advocating for ratification. They believed that prolonging the process increased uncertainty and hindered European companies from planning investments and supplies.
After reaching a compromise, the EU effectively met one of Washington's key demands and reduced the risk of a new trade confrontation with the US.
Now the focus will be on how the agreement will work in practice and whether the parties will be able to avoid new disputes over tariffs and trade conditions.
