The European Parliament has voted in favor of a trade framework agreed to by E.U. and U.S. negotiators in summer 2025, eliminating most tariffs on U.S. goods and giving preferential treatment to a “wide range” of U.S. seafood products.
In his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump has set out to restructure the United States’ trade relationships with other countries, raising tariffs on foreign goods and using the nation’s market power to secure foreign investments and negotiate more advantageous deals. That included threatening the E.U. with a tariff rate as high as 50 percent on most goods.
That threat lowered to a tariff rate of 30 percent with a 1 August 2025 deadline, which E.U. negotiators avoided by agreeing to a trade framework with the U.S. that set a tariff of 15 percent on European goods. In return, the E.U. agreed to invest heavily in the U.S. energy market and zero out tariffs on a wide range of American products bound for Europe. The agreement also extended the elimination of customs duties on U.S. lobster, which had expired in summer 2025.
"Keeping the E.U. market open and duty free is crucial to the long-term success of the lobster industry and the support of coastal communities," New England Fishermen's Stewardship Association COO Dustin Delano said at the time. "This agreement is another example of how good policy can benefit hardworking fishermen and the coastal communities they sustain."
Trump’s year of tariff threats and renegotiations ended in an abrupt hiccup, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the president’s reliance on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to unilaterally implement tariffs was illegal. Trump quickly moved to utilize a different authority for implementing tariffs, setting a global 10 percent tariff on foreign goods.
On 26 March, the European Parliament adopted two proposals implementing the tariff provisions included in the E.U.-U.S. trade deal; however, members demanded certain safeguards to protect against Trump’s fluctuating position on trade with the bloc.
“With today's vote, we have a strong mandate for negotiations with the Council, and we intend to make the most of it. MEPs will only be able to sign up to the trade terms of the deal if the regulation contains very strong and clear safeguards and only after the U.S. has fully respected the terms of the deal. I intend to defend this mandate firmly in the negotiations,” Rapporteur Bernd Lange said in a statement.
Those safeguards came after Trump threatened to halt all trade with Spain after the nation declined to let the U.S. use its airbases as part of its war on Iran. Concerned by Trump’s inconsistency, the European Parliament included clauses that would allow it to nullify the deal if the U.S. does not comply with its parts of the agreement. For example, under the strengthened suspension clause, the E.U. could halt trade preferences given to U.S. goods under the deal if Trump were to impose additional tariffs exceeding the 15 percent rate agreed to in the summer.
“The conditions are clearly defined in Parliament’s position. They include a sunrise clause requiring full U.S. compliance before the regulation can take effect and a sunset clause ensuring full parliamentary oversight of any extension of the concessions, all the while remaining WTO-compliant. Any further tariff threat, or the failure of the deal to deliver for E.U. producers and consumers, will lead to the expiry of the legislation,” Lange said.
The agreement is set to expire 31 March 2028 – shortly after Trump is set to leave office following the completion of his second term.
With the European Parliament vote complete, members can now begin negotiations with E.U. governments on finalizing the legislation.
