The European Parliament has officially suspended the US trade deal ratification, directly responding to President Trump’s threat of 10% tariffs unless Europe backs his Greenland acquisition plans. This decision represents the most substantial material response Brussels has delivered against what multiple European leaders characterized as blackmail.
Trade committee head Bernd Lange made the EU’s position unambiguous, declaring that compromise remains impossible while threats concerning Greenland persist. The suspended agreement had promised American exporters unprecedented access to European markets with zero tariffs on numerous industrial goods.
Despite the trade deal suspension, the EU’s commitment to purchase $750 billion in American energy remains fully operational. According to Lange’s confirmation, this energy arrangement exists independently from the tariff negotiations, allowing Brussels to preserve energy cooperation while defending political principles.
The deteriorating diplomatic atmosphere became evident when Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, revised her travel plans following her parliamentary address. She cancelled a Davos visit that could have resulted in a Trump meeting, returning directly to Brussels to prepare for an emergency summit.
In a separate but significant development, parliament voted by an extremely narrow 10-vote margin to refer the Mercosur trade deal with Latin American countries to the European Court of Justice. This decision drew condemnation from Lange, the European Commission, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, while German car manufacturers also denounced the move. Although the Commission could provisionally implement the agreement as it did with Brexit, Lange warned this would create “huge institutional conflict.” The Thursday summit will focus primarily on US relations, including €93 billion in counter-tariffs.
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