MEPs freeze EU-US trade deal over latest Trump threats

Euronews · Feb 23, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Published on 23/02/2026 - 15:47 GMT+1•Updated 16:20 EU lawmakers on Monday moved to suspend the EU-US trade agreement after the United States Supreme Court ruled last week that some of the tariffs imposed in 2025 by Washington were illegal, prompting President Donald Trump to announce fresh 15% duties on imports. "It's clear the legal basis has totally changed and we have the introduction of new tariffs which are totally different than the old tariffs," German MEP Bernd Lange, chair of the parliamentary trade committee, told journalists. "We want to have a clear declaration from the United States that this is over and we have a perspective to respect the deal for a longer time." The European Parliament holds the keys to implementing the deal, which was clinched in July 2025 by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trump after weeks of brinkmanship and tariff threats from Washington. Widely viewed as lopsided by many in Europe, the deal locks in 15% US tariffs on EU exports, while granting zero-duty access to most American goods entering the bloc. MEPs had already frozen the deal once after Trump threatened tariffs on several EU countries if they refused to let him acquire Greenland. Parliamentary work later resumed, and a vote on the deal was planned for Tuesday – but has now effectively been scrapped. On Monday afternoon, Parliament’s negotiators convened for an extraordinary meeting with EU Trade Chief Maroš Šefčovič, who spoke over the weekend with his US counterparts, Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Earlier on Monday, Šefčovič also held a video call with his G7 counterparts, seeking to put out the fire sparked by Washington’s latest tariff salvo. "What we told them [the US] is that for us the clarity of how our deal would be respected, how our 15% all-inclusive tariff would be put in place is of utmost importance because a deal is a deal and we have to respect it," Šefčovič said after the meeting with the MEPs. He added that he hoped the Parliament would ultimately be able to vote to implement the deal during its March plenary session. Since Trump’s return to power, Washington has pursued an aggressive trade strategy aimed at reshoring US industry and boosting Treasury revenues. But Supreme Court judges said last Friday that Trump overstepped his authority by imposing tariffs without Congressional involvement under a law reserved for national emergencies.