The EU-US trade agreement is moving forward: “Helps avoid the risk of a trade war”

The EU is restarting the ratification of its trade agreement with the US, moving the long-frozen agreement towards final approval.

The Parliament’s trade committee (INTA) plans to vote on the agreement on Thursday, after which the matter will proceed to a plenary vote.

In recent months, the EU Parliament has repeatedly delayed the approval of the agreement. The Parliament has appealed, among others, to the President of the United States in freezing the agreement Donald Trump’s Greenland threats and customs uncertainty. Trump has imposed new tariffs on the EU, even though the US Supreme Court overturned the tariffs previously imposed by Trump.

The United States has on several occasions expressed its frustration with the EU’s delays. Recently, the US opened new investigations into the EU’s trade practices, which could lead to additional tariffs.

However, on Tuesday, parliamentarians decided to proceed with the matter and added a clarification to the agreement, according to which the agreement will not enter into force until the United States complies with its terms.

Shadow rapporteur of the EPP group in the Parliament Zeljana Zovko commented on Tuesday’s decision of the INTA committee in X.

“This agreement came about at the very last moment and helps to avoid the risk of a trade war and to preserve the positive development in our transatlantic trade relations. It now requires a strong sense of responsibility from all parties,” said Zovko.

He hoped that the Parliament’s position would be approved as quickly as possible – as early as March.

If the parliament approves the agreement, the final text will be put to a vote by the member states.