The European Parliament’s influential trade committee has voted to advance the EU–US Turnberry deal, despite months of turmoil over Washington’s tariff moves. The full Parliament votes next week; political support remains far from guaranteed as the Socialists & Democrats claim they are ready to torpedo the deal.
The International Trade Committee (INTA) approved two implementing proposals to the agreement in a 29–9 vote on Thursday. Chair Bernd Lange (S&D/DEU) wrote on X that the committee had secured a “broad majority for strong and common EP position on implementation”. Mr Lange was clear about what comes next. “We won’t be taking any final decision without clarity,” he wrote. “Will stay in the driving seat and have the last word on application.”
The committee backed two proposals implementing the deal struck at the Turnberry golf resort in Scotland last July. One lowers EU import duties on American goods. The other temporarily suspends existing duties during the implementation period. Finalising the agreement would remove most EU tariffs on American products, currently set at 10 per cent.
Socialist resistance
Advancing the deal, however, is far from certain. The full Parliament votes next week. Negotiations between the Parliament and the Council on how to implement the new tariff regime will follow — if they do, that is. Political support is thin; the Socialists, the Parliament’s second biggest faction, are yet to come on board. “Without adequate guarantees, our group will not support the deal after negotiations with the Council,” wrote Brando Benifei (S&D/ITA), the group’ coordinator in the INTA committee, in a press statement.
“Forcing a plenary vote next week in the March mini-session is a highly risky move; a vote in April would be the more responsible choice,” Mr Benifei continued. “The EPP should reconsider its position to avoid a repeat of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) opinion on the Mercosur deal — a precedent that should invite us all to utmost caution.”
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Mr Lange called for the Thursday votes after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer assured him that Washington would remove tariffs on products containing steel and aluminium.
The Turnberry deal set a 15 per cent tariff baseline on most EU goods entering the US. But immediately after it was struck, Washington applied separate Section 232 national security tariffs to roughly 400 product categories containing steel or aluminium. Washington charged them at 50 per cent, covering goods such as pumps, motorcycles, and other manufactured products.
Uncertain climate
Mr Lange immediately flagged this as a primary concern, saying it gave the Parliament “no security or predictability”. Yet the INTA chair believes he now has what he needs to move forward with confidence. The Supreme Court had struck down US President Donald Trump’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff regime. Mr Trump quickly moved to invoke Section 232, Section 301, and other tariff mechanisms in response.
The administration has threatened to annex Greenland and cut off all trade with Spain. It is now waging a war alongside Israel against Iran. Washington also called on Europe to assist militarily in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open — after declaring victory and before claiming the US “does not need nor desire” its NATO allies.
Without adequate guarantees, our Group will not support the deal after negotiations with the Council. — MEP Brando Benifei (S&D/ITA)
“At a time of uncertainty, we must provide clarity and stability,” MEP Željana Zovko (EPP/HRV), the committee’s lead MEP on EU–US trade relations, was quoted as saying. “This deal comes at the very last moment to avoid a trade war. We must move quickly to a final vote next week.”
MEPs are expected to cast their votes in plenary on 26 March in Brussels. Whether the deal survives that vote remains an open question.
