The European Union has frozen its landmark trade agreement with the United States, citing President-elect Donald Trump’s renewed threat to seize Greenland and impose sweeping tariffs on European nations.
At a Glance
- EU lawmakers suspended ratification of the July 2024 U.S. trade pact
- Trump vowed 25% tariffs on seven EU countries plus the U.K. unless America gains control of Greenland
- The deal had capped most U.S. tariffs on EU goods at 15%-among the lowest rates last year
- Why it matters: American farmers and factories lose guaranteed access to the 27-nation bloc, risking billions in future sales
EU Pulls Plug After Trump Ultimatum
European Parliament trade chair Bernd Lange announced the halt Wednesday, saying Trump’s “continued and escalating threats, including tariff threats, against Greenland and Denmark, and their European allies” left Brussels “no alternative.”
“Until the U.S. decides to re-engage on a path of cooperation rather than confrontation,” Lange said in a statement, the EU will take no further steps to enact the agreement.
He amplified the message on X: “Our sovereignty and territorial integrity are at stake. Business as usual impossible.”
Deal That Promised Stability-Now on Ice
The suspension lands just six months after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen flew to Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in July and hailed a breakthrough.
Key terms sealed that day:
- U.S. tariffs on most EU imports capped at 15%
- Zero tariffs on generic pharmaceuticals from Europe
- EU cuts its own tariffs on select U.S. farm and factory goods, opening a $150 billion annual market to American exporters
At the time, the Commission said the accord “restores stability and predictability” to trans-Atlantic trade.
Tariff Threat Triggered Collapse
The pivot came Saturday when Trump warned he would slap 25% tariffs on cars, machinery, and agricultural products from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, and the United Kingdom unless Washington gains sovereignty over Greenland.
Speaking Tuesday at the World Economic Forum, von der Leyen signaled the EU’s hardening stance: “In politics as in business, a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something.”
What Happens Next
With parliamentary ratification paused, the EU keeps its current tariff schedule unchanged. American exporters retain existing access levels but forfeit the deeper reductions negotiated last summer.
Lange offered no timeline for restarting the process, saying only that Brussels awaits “a path of cooperation rather than confrontation” from Washington.
