European Parliament Suspends Work on EU-US Trade Deal Over Trump’s Push for Greenland

The European Parliament has decided to suspend its work on the EU’s trade deal with the United States in protest at President Donald Trump’s demands to acquire Greenland and threats of tariffs on European allies who oppose his plan.

The EU assembly has been debating legislative proposals to remove many EU import duties on U.S. goods, a key part of the agreement struck in Scotland last July, as well as to continue zero duties for U.S. lobsters, initially agreed with Trump in 2020.

The proposals require approval by the parliament and EU governments.

Many lawmakers have complained that the trade deal is lopsided, with the EU required to cut most import duties while the U.S. sticks to a broad rate of 15%.

However, they had previously appeared willing to accept it, albeit with conditions, such as an 18-month sunset clause and measures to respond to possible surges of U.S. imports.

The trade committee of the European Parliament was due to set its position in votes on January 26-27. However this has now been postponed.

The chair of the committee, Bernd Lange, told a news conference on Wednesday that the new tariff threats had broken the deal struck in Scotland, saying it would now be put on hold until further notice.

However, freezing the deal risks angering Trump, which could lead to higher U.S. tariffs. The Trump administration has also ruled out any concessions, such as cutting tariffs on spirits or steel, until the deal is in place.

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