The European Parliament halted work on a trade deal between the 27-nation European Union and the United States on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump continued to call for US control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, according to a lawmaker.
Parliament’s trade committee postponed the vote indefinitely on Wednesday, raising questions about whether the deal will ever be completed.
When is work expected to resume on trade agreements?
Bernd Lange, chairman of the parliament’s trade committee, said in a statement according to Bloomberg: “By threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of an EU member state and using tariffs as a coercive tool, the US is undermining the stability and predictability of EU-US trade relations.”
Lange added: “We are left with no alternative but to suspend work” on the trade deal “until the US decides to re-enter the path of cooperation rather than confrontation”.
Manfred Weber, the leader of parliament’s largest political group, the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), said on Wednesday that there would be no ratification of the deal and duty-free access to the EU for US products until reliability concerns were resolved, a position he said was widely shared across Parliament.
The proposed deal became embroiled in an escalating dispute between the EU and the United States over Greenland, a standoff that has pushed transatlantic relations to near breaking point. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on several European countries if he is not allowed to buy the island, which is Danish territory.
Read also | Trump again confuses Greenland with Iceland, attacks NATO at Davos
Trump’s threat of tariffs over the weekend led EU lawmakers to reconsider a planned ratification vote on the US trade deal struck with Washington last July. Under the deal, most EU exports would face a 15% tariff, while the bloc pledged to eliminate all tariffs on US manufactured goods and some agricultural products. Although some parts of the agreement have already entered into force, it still requires the consent of the European Parliament to be fully enacted.
At the time it was negotiated, the EU concessions were widely seen as an attempt to avert an all-out trade conflict with Trump and preserve US security commitments to Europe while Russia continues its war in Ukraine.
But the US president’s ultimatum on Greenland has intensified long-standing European criticism that the deal was too generous, and even led some advocates to say that final approval should now be delayed. Trump said a 10% tariff on goods from eight European countries would be imposed on February 1, rising to 25% in June, unless they secured a deal to “buy Greenland”.
Read also | Wall Street rises after Trump says he won’t use force to take Greenland
Meanwhile, EU leaders are due to meet in Brussels on Thursday to consider how to respond to what they describe as Trump’s aggressive stance. Among the measures being considered are retaliatory tariffs on €93 billion ($109 billion) worth of US products, as well as the potential use of a so-called anti-coercion tool that would allow the bloc to limit investment in the EU and levy additional fees and tariffs.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EU’s chief executive, told EU lawmakers on Wednesday morning that “Europe prefers dialogue and solutions – but we are fully prepared to act, if necessary, with unity, urgency and determination”.
