The day after a second session of negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (trilogue) on the ‘Turnberry’ agreement (see EUROPE 13864/8), US President Donald Trump has given his European partners until 4 July - the American bank holidays - to implement the trade compromise reached last July. This deadline comes after a telephone call between Donald Trump and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
If Europe does not implement the terms of the agreement by then, the customs duties imposed by Washington would “immediately jump to much higher levels”, warned the US President on his Truth Social network. While the White House was threatening to increase customs duties on automobiles as early as next week (see EUROPE 13861/14), the date of 4 July gives Europe a temporary respite.
Moreover, this ultimatum comes as the US Court of International Trade (CIT) has invalidated the 10% tariffs unilaterally introduced by Donald Trump, just a few months after a similar ruling by the US Supreme Court.
“The latest developments show that we were right to resist the American threats”, said Bernd Lange (S&D, German), chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA), in a statement published on Friday 8 May. “It is also worth noting the judgement handed down by the New York Commercial Court. Certain elements of the current legal basis for US tariffs are built on fragile foundations”.
The European Parliament’s chief negotiator said he was “convinced” that he would be able to bring the discussions to a successful conclusion at the next trilogue, scheduled for Tuesday 19 May. If it proves conclusive, MEPs will then be able to give their final green light at a forthcoming plenary session of the Parliament, before the 4 July deadline. (Original version in French by Juliette Verdes)