Overview
- EU negotiators from Parliament, the Council and the Commission, who sealed a compromise early Wednesday, agreed to cut EU duties on most U.S. industrial goods to head off President Trump’s threatened tariff hikes by July 4.
- Under the Turnberry framework agreed last July, Europe drops most industrial tariffs and grants some farm and seafood preferences, while the U.S. keeps most tariffs on EU exports capped at 15 percent.
- The text empowers the European Commission to suspend EU concessions if Washington fails to roll back higher duties on European steel and aluminum by the end of 2026, with reporting this year and tools to probe and act on import surges that threaten EU producers.
- Lawmakers dropped a proposed “sunrise” trigger that would have delayed EU cuts until full U.S. compliance, and they extended the “sunset” end date to December 2029 to force a review if the pact is not renewed.
- A plenary vote in mid-June is planned to keep pace with the July 4 timeline, though some MEPs criticize the deal as lopsided and court rulings limiting U.S. tariff powers leave questions about Washington’s ability to fully match Europe’s move.