Members of the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade supported the opening of limited trade negotiations with the United States on Tuesday 19 February, with 21 votes in favour, 17 against and one abstention.
The EPP, ALDE and ECR rejected the non-binding motion for resolution by the rapporteur, Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany), confirming a clear left/right split on this vote.
The EPP, ALDE and ECR justify their support for the Committee’s initiative by virtue of "exceptional circumstances", according to the amendments approved by these groups. In this way, they hope to keep Washington engaged in a dialogue, while at the same time carrying out the "positive” agenda of the joint declaration by presidents Juncker and Trump on 25 July.
These groups believe that "a limited agreement with the United States on the elimination of tariffs for industrial goods including cars [...] as well as a conformity assessment agreement with no changes on EU standards and rules can pave the way to launch a new process to work towards mutually beneficial trade relations and to as such ease current trade tensions”.
The limited coverage of these agreements does not, according to these MEPs, justify fulfilling all the preconditions for the opening of ‘classical’ negotiations and, in particular, the elements included in the “Trade for All” strategy, stating, for instance, that the EU should not negotiate with countries that have not signed the Paris Agreement. “The conclusion of a trade and conformity assessment agreement with the United States under the above mentioned conditions does not reflect the general principles of EU trade agreements”, they also stated.
They also reiterated their opposition to the inclusion of agriculture in the talks and called for more clarity on the treatment of rules of origin in the discussions.
Finally, the tariff measures imposed by the United States on imports of steel and aluminium from the EU must be lifted before the agreement is concluded.
In the event of new trade restrictions, the groups are almost unanimous: negotiations will have to be suspended, and a suspension clause will have to be introduced in the mandates to this end.
The S&D, GUE/NGL, and Greens/EFA, as well as the EFDD and ENF groups, believe that the circumstances for initiating these talks have not been met (see EUROPE 12196).
"We should not negotiate with a revolver to our head", Bernd Lange told EUROPE after the vote. "The Trump government imposes illegal tariffs on steel and threatens the European automotive sector. Now is not the moment to start offering presents in the form of talks on an EU-US trade agreement”. "Our message for the next weeks is very simple”, he added. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)