Cavazzini, a German MEP, said: “The top priority must be to find a solution for the remaining 50 percent tariffs on steel, aluminum, and derivatives. The ball is now in the U.S.’s court. Tariffs are extremely unpopular and have not led to the industrial jobs promised by Trump.”
Croatian MEP Zovko, whose party favors the Turnberry deal, said MEPs should still hold a plenary vote to implement it next month. “If we stick to the deal, we can at least demand something from the Americans,” she said.
Confirming the delay, Bernd Lange, the chair of the trade committee, said: “Business as usual is not an option.” Senior trade lawmakers, known as shadow rapporteurs, will meet again next week to reassess the situation, the German Social Democrat added in a statement.
Only once the Parliament adopts a position would it be possible to hold talks with the other branches of the EU — the Commission and the Council representing its 27 member states — to finally implement the EU’s side of the bargain. This would mainly entail scrapping duties on U.S. industrial goods.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič was due to brief ambassadors from EU member countries later on Monday and EU lawmakers on Tuesday, Olof Gill, the Commission’s deputy chief spokesperson, said earlier. Šefčovič spoke with Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Saturday.
The EU executive, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of the bloc’s 27 member countries, has expressed dismay at Trump’s latest tariff move.
“The current situation is not conducive to delivering ‘fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial’ transatlantic trade and investment,” it said on Sunday, requesting full clarity from the Trump administration on the steps it intends to take after the Supreme Court ruling.