The trade commissioner assures: the trade agreement between the EU and the USA will hold

Trade Commissioner of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič said on Tuesday that he had received an assurance from Washington that the United States intends to stick to the trade agreement it signed with the EU last summer, even though the president Donald Trump announced new import tariffs of 15 percent over the weekend.

The Trade Commissioner spoke to the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee on Tuesday in Brussels.

The trade agreement approved last summer includes 15 percent tariffs on most EU exports to the United States. The lower tariff level applies to, among other things, airplanes, their parts, as well as medicines and natural resources that are not available in the United States. In addition, the United States levies a 50 percent tariff on steel imports from the EU, and so far this level has not been changed in the treaty negotiations.

Šefčovič described the transatlantic relationship as requiring “careful management”, but assured that, despite recent challenges, cooperation will move forward.

According to the commissioner, it is necessary that the EU also advances in the implementation of the commitments of the trade agreement in order to be a credible partner.

On Monday, members of the House’s International Trade Committee decided to suspend the ratification of the agreement agreed last summer until the United States confirms that the agreement is valid.

Chairman of the Parliament’s International Trade Committee Bernd Lange said Tuesday that the House needs assurances that the U.S. won’t keep imposing new tariffs.

“Then we’ll stick to the deal,” Lange said.

Fast forward

Šefčovič urged the committee to speed up the approval of the agreement and schedule the decisive plenary hearing for March.

“The plenary vote must remain our goal, on the condition that we get more clarity from the United States,” Šefčovič told MEPs.

He reminded that the United States is the EU’s most important trading partner and tried to assure that the agreement reached last July has returned “much-needed stability and predictability” to the market.

The commissioner pointed to a recent US Supreme Court decision that limits the president’s power to impose tariffs under emergency law.

New cooperation

Šefčovič said that despite the recent challenges, the EU and the US are opening new cooperation channels, including negotiations on bilateral critical raw materials (CRM) memoranda and a multilateral initiative to strengthen raw material supply security.

Šefčovič emphasized that the EU’s strategy is to remain calm, united and committed to the agreement, while the Union expands its free trade network with other partners as well.