European Parliament Suspends Trade Agreement Process with the US

Uncertainty in the Trade Agreement Process The European Parliament (EP) has announced the suspension of work and the planned vote on the European Union (EU)-US trade agreement due to legal and political uncertainties regarding customs tariffs in the United States.
Bernd Lange, Chairman of the EP International Trade Committee, stated that representatives of political groups made this decision after evaluating the current situation.
Loss of Legal Instruments and Stability Issues Lange emphasized that the consequences of the US Supreme Court's decision regarding the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) cannot be ignored.
He noted that the primary legal tool used by the US side to negotiate and implement the Turnberry Agreement is no longer valid, which contradicts the fundamental principles of international trade: stability and predictability.
Risk of Changes in Tariff Rates The US administration's plan to use Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act instead of the IEEPA has raised the risk of exceeding the 15 percent threshold on imports from the EU.
Lange stated that this new situation constitutes a clear deviation from the terms of the Turnberry Agreement.
In light of these developments, the committee vote scheduled for February 24 has been canceled, and the process will be re-evaluated next week.
Background of the Turnberry Agreement The US Supreme Court had ruled that the IEEPA, which President Donald Trump relied on for customs tariffs, does not grant the president the authority to impose tariffs.
Consequently, the US administration sought to restructure global customs duty rates.
The Turnberry Agreement, signed in July 2025, stipulated that EU countries would not apply customs tariffs to US products, while the US would apply a 15 percent tariff to EU products.