EU puts US trade deal approval on hold

The European Parliament has suspended the approval of a key US trade deal agreed in July in protest against Donald Trump’s demand to take over Greenland.

The suspension was announced in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday, as the US president addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The move followed renewed trade tensions between the US and Europe sparked by Trump’s bid to acquire Greenland, which had rattled financial markets, reviving talk of a trade war and the possibility of retaliation against the US.

Hours later, Trump said on social media he had reached a “framework” deal on Greenland’s future and would not carry out threats to put new tariffs on eight Nato members.

Trade tensions between the US and Europe had eased since the two sides struck a deal at Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland in July.

That agreement set US levies on most European goods at 15 per cent, down from the 30 per cent Trump had initially threatened as part of his “Liberation Day” wave of tariffs in April. In exchange, Europe had agreed to invest in the US and make changes on the continent expected to boost US exports.

The deal would have still required approval from the European Parliament to become official.

But on Wednesday, days after Trump threatened fresh US tariffs over Greenland, Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee, said it was “left with no alternative but to suspend work on the two Turnberry legislative proposals”.

He said work to implement the trade plans would be on hold “until the US decides to re-engage on a path of cooperation rather than confrontation, and before any further steps are taken”. (BBC)

The post EU puts US trade deal approval on hold appeared first on nationnews.com.