The EU will suspend the approval process for the US trade agreement — Bloomberg

Investing.com - According to Bloomberg News, the European Union will freeze the approval process of the trade agreement signed with the United States last year, as Brussels officials seek clearer understanding of Washington’s tariff plans.

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According to Bloomberg, major political groups in the European Parliament announced that legislative work to approve the agreement will be suspended on Monday.

Last weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 15% global tariff, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that he lacked the authority to impose comprehensive tariffs on key trading partners, including the EU. The White House initially stated that tariffs would be set at 10% starting Tuesday, but Trump later increased this figure.

Importantly, the U.S. Congress—whose constitutional trade powers are central to the Supreme Court’s rejection of Trump’s emergency tariff claims—may extend the 15% tariffs once they legally expire after 150 days.

In theory, the president can allow the additional tariffs to expire, declare a new emergency, and restart the 150-day period, effectively creating a “de facto permanent tariff tool,” analysts at ING noted.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the chief negotiator for the European People’s Party group on the U.S.-EU trade agreement stated, “There is no choice,” but to delay the approval process until the situation becomes clearer. The EU is the largest source of U.S. imports. According to U.S. Census Bureau data cited by Bloomberg, from January to May last year, the EU accounted for 20.2% of U.S. imports, worth approximately $303 billion.

Bloomberg reports that the chair of the Parliament’s Trade Committee also called for an emergency meeting on Monday to reassess the U.S.-EU trade agreement, while EU ambassadors will also convene to discuss the matter.

Brussels lawmakers previously paused the approval process of the agreement after Trump threatened to take over Greenland (a territory of Denmark, an EU member state).

Under the terms of the agreement reached last summer, the EU agreed to impose a 15% tariff on most exports to the U.S. and to eliminate tariffs on American industrial goods entering the EU. Meanwhile, the U.S. will retain a 50% tariff on European steel and aluminum.

European stock markets fell to intraday lows on Monday.

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