After nearly six hours of discussions on the evening of Wednesday 6 May, the institutional negotiations made progress on a number of key points in the so-called ‘Turnberry’ agreement between the European Union and the United States (see EUROPE 13689/1), notably on the inclusion of a ‘sunset clause’, a safeguard mechanism, and a suspension clause (see EUROPE 13837/4), without however reaching a political agreement.
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU were hoping to reach a conclusive trilogue, but certain details still need to be examined at a technical level, it was learned on Thursday 7 May.
“Significant and concrete progress has been made, particularly on the issue of the safeguard mechanism, and on the review and assessment of the main regulation. In all other areas, there was a constructive exchange of views, with the co-legislators expressing their willingness to move forward”, a European diplomat told Agence Europe.
The principle of a ‘sunset clause’ validated. Bernd Lange (S&D, German), Parliament’s chief negotiator on this dossier and Chair of the Committee on International Trade (INTA), confirmed to Agence Europe that the co-legislators had found common ground on several key points.
In particular, they validated the ‘sunset’ clause, stipulating that the agreement expires on 31 March 2028, and guaranteeing parliamentary control over any extension of tariff preferences. However, the introduction of a ‘sunrise clause’ (see EUROPE 13825/31), under which European measures would come into force once the agreement had been respected on the US side, does not yet appear to have been the subject of a compromise.
“We have made a lot of progress on certain points, such as data collection and the suspension mechanism, and we have also reached agreement on the existence of a ‘sunset clause’. Overall, there has been a great deal of progress, but of course all this still needs to be legally verified”, said Bernd Lange.
In a message posted on LinkedIn, the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, also noted progress, reiterating the European Commission’s line: to honour the terms of the agreement reached last summer with the United States while safeguarding the EU’s interests, “in particular by providing the Commission with the necessary instruments to ensure that the joint EU-US declaration is faithfully implemented by both parties”.
Time is running out. While these advances have been welcomed, political pressure is now mounting to reach an agreement quickly.
The EPP Group’s rapporteur, Željana Zovko (Croatian), said in a statement that it was up to Parliament’s chief negotiator to bring the talks to a conclusion, claiming that the delay in implementing the text was already affecting European businesses and workers.
Furthermore, in the absence of a definitive agreement on the EU side, uncertainty hangs over the American reaction. Donald Trump plans to make good on his threats by raising tariffs on European car imports to 25% from 11 May, next Monday.
Mr Šefčovič said that he remained “in close contact” with his American counterparts, whom he had met earlier in the week (see EUROPE 13862/11), while calling on the US administration to honour its commitments. Thomas Regnier, spokesman for the European Commission, confirmed that discussions with Washington were continuing actively at political level.
At this stage, the White House has not commented on the outcome of the dialogue at European level. Technical work is underway at EU level, with a further meeting scheduled for 12 May. The co-legislators have set 19 May as the date for the next trilogue, which they hope will be conclusive. (Original version in French by Juliette Verdes)