EU Halts Approval of Landmark US Trade Deal
Bernd Lange, chair of the parliament's international trade committee, announced the freeze Wednesday, declaring that lawmakers had no choice given the mounting pressure from across the Atlantic. "Given the continued and escalating threats, including tariff threats, against Greenland and Denmark, and their European allies, we have been left with no alternative but to suspend work" on the deal, Lange stated.
Writing on X, he emphasized the gravity of the situation: "Our sovereignty and territorial integrity are at stake."
He further noted that normal diplomatic relations were no longer viable, adding "Business as usual impossible" in his social media post.
The agreement in question—finalized last July between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen—establishes a 15% ceiling on tariffs for most European Union products shipped to American markets, representing preferential treatment compared to duties levied on other US trade partners. Under its terms, the EU committed to eliminating certain tariffs on American farm and manufacturing goods while pledging $600 billion in US investments and $750 billion in American energy purchases.
Many observers characterized the arrangement as asymmetrically beneficial to Washington. European legislators had been poised to consider proposed modifications to the text in the upcoming days, but the Greenland controversy has now cast doubt on whether approval will proceed.
Last week, Trump unveiled a 10% penalty tariff targeting eight European NATO members that have opposed his Greenland acquisition plans. The president warned this punitive measure would escalate to 25% without an agreement on the Arctic territory—which currently houses a US military installation—by June.
Danish officials have consistently rejected any notion of ceding Greenland, yet Trump has vowed to obtain the island "the easy way" or "the hard way."
Addressing the World Economic Forum's annual gathering in Davos on Wednesday, the American president referred to Greenland as "our territory," and insisted that Denmark begin "immediate negotiations" to transfer control to the United States.
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