EU Trade Committee Advances Deal With United States

The European Parliament's trade committee voted 29 to 9 on March 19, 2026, to advance legislation implementing a trade agreement with the United States. Originally signed in July 2025 by Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump at a resort in Turnberry, Scotland, the deal has been stalled for months due to U.S. Supreme Court rulings on tariff authority and Trump's threats regarding the acquisition of Greenland.

The agreement requires the European Union to abolish tariffs on U.S. industrial goods, aircraft components, generic medicines, and critical raw materials, while the U.S. maintains a 15 percent import rate on EU exports. To address the lopsided nature of these terms, committee chair Bernd Lange brokered a compromise featuring a multi-tiered safety net. This includes a sunrise clause that makes EU duty reductions conditional on U.S. compliance and a sunset clause that expires the deal in March 2028.

Additionally, the committee tied steel and aluminum tariff cuts to reciprocal U.S. reductions. While the European People’s Party pushed for a final plenary vote by late March, left-leaning groups sought a postponement until April. The proposal must now undergo a full European Parliament vote and negotiations with EU governments, with final approval expected in April or May.