European Parliament backs US trade deal but demands safeguards

The European Parliament has approved plans to move forward with a trade deal between the EU and the United States, but only if strict guarantees are met.

MEPs voted 417 to 154, with 71 abstentions, to support the agreement. The deal, struck last summer by Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and US president Donald Trump, would remove EU tariffs on American industrial goods and widen access for some US farm and fish products. In return, the US would cap tariffs on EU exports at 15%.

However, the European Parliament insists the EU’s commitments should only take effect if the US fully honours its side of the deal, including cutting tariffs on steel and aluminium. MEPs also want the agreement to expire by March 2028 unless renewed, and to allow it to be suspended if the US imposes new tariffs or threatens EU member states.

Support for the deal has been lukewarm. Lawmakers delayed the vote twice amid tensions with Washington, including threats of new US tariffs and legal uncertainty over existing measures.

Despite concerns that the deal favours the US, many MEPs backed it as a way to avoid a damaging trade war and provide stability for European businesses.

The vote does not finalise the agreement. It sets Parliament’s position for negotiations with EU member states. A final decision is still to come.

^{© Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP}