European Commission urges US to honor trade deal

DW News · Feb 22, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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The European Commission on Sunday demanded that the United States respect the terms of a trade deal reached last July. The call from Brussels comes after US President Donald Trump said he was raising a global 10% tariff to 15% in response to the US Supreme Court blocking many of his emergency tariffs. The court decision has cast uncertainty over the ratification of the deal, which had been put on hold and was to be approved by the European Parliament on Tuesday. What did the EU Commission say about the terms of the US trade deal? The Commission called for Washington to provide "full clarity" on the measures it plans to implement following the Supreme Court ruling. "EU companies and exporters must have fair treatment, predictability and legal certainty," the Commission said. "The current situation is not conducive to delivering 'fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial' transatlantic trade and investment, as agreed to by both sides," it said, pointing to the deal reached by the US and the EU last year. "A ​deal is a deal." "In particular, EU products must ​continue to benefit ⁠from the most competitive treatment, with no increases in tariffs beyond the clear and all-inclusive ⁠ceiling previously agreed," it said. In an earlier statement issued on Friday, the Commission said it was studying the potential effects of the court's decision.How can Europe deal with Trump’s punitive tariffs?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What was the trade deal between the US and the EU? Trump imposed tariffs on multiple countries shortly after he took office in January 2025, in a bid to reduce the US trade deficit and boost manufacturing in the country. In July 2025, Trump threatened to impose a 30% tariff on all EU goods. After negotiations between Brussels and Washington, the two sides reached a deal setting tariffs of 15% on most EU exports to the US. It would also require the EU to buy $750 billion (€636.5 billion) of US energy products through 2028. EU officials later put the ratification of the deal on hold in response to Trump's push for the US to take over of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of EU member state Denmark. Edited by: Sean Sinico