The European Parliament has unblocked a trade agreement with the US under new conditions

The institutional version includes provisions on expiry and suspension

Representatives of political groups in the European Parliament have agreed on the terms of application of the EU-US trade agreement concluded in July 2025, agreeing on the details of the legislation. This was reported by Euronews.

The compromise reached by the European Parliament includes a “sunset clause,” according to which EU tariff concessions will expire at the end of March 2028 unless they are explicitly extended, as well as a “suspension clause” that will be activated if the US violates the rules of the agreement.

The European Parliament’s version of the trade agreement will also include a safeguard mechanism to address the potential impact on the European market of lower tariffs on US goods.

European lawmakers, Politico writes, have also agreed to a clause that requires the European Commission to review the agreement six months after it enters into force if the US does not reduce tariffs from 50% to a base level of 15% on EU products containing steel.

“If the United States is not reducing the tariffs for these products — more than 400 products — in six months, we will re-establish the tariffs for steel and steel relevant products inside the EU, automatically,” said Bernd Lange, who heads the European Parliament’s Trade Committee.

The amendments still have to be approved at a plenary session of the European Parliament, and the changes have to be agreed with member states during negotiations, so some of the conditions may change.

On January 21, US President Donald Trump abandoned plans to impose tariffs on imports from the UK and a number of EU member states due to their position on Greenland. Earlier that day, the European Parliament officially suspended the ratification process for the trade agreement with the United States in protest against Trump’s threats.

As reported by GMK Center, the EU also considered far-reaching countermeasures, including tariffs worth €93 billion in response to Donald Trump’s statements. This move could be a reactivation of measures that the bloc suspended after reaching a trade agreement with the United States in July last year. It could be implemented very quickly compared to some of the other options being discussed.