European Union Resumes Consideration Of Trade Pact With The United States

As Supply Chain Dive reported, the European Union has resumed “work to implement a framework trade agreement with the United States after halting efforts in response to tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.” (As Connecting the Dots reported at the time, President Trump had threatened to implement new tariffs on European products if those countries opposed his plan to take over Greenland. The European Parliament responded by suspending a planned trade pact with the United States.)

Last Wednesday, Feb. 4 the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee (ITC) agreed to reopen negotiations surrounding the trade deal, and, according to Supply Chain Dive, and is now “focused on two specific proposals within the larger framework agreement, namely the removal of tariffs on U.S.-based industrial products and certain seafood and agricultural products, including lobster.” Despite the unfreezing of trade negotiations, the ITC and its member countries failed to reach a common position on the trade pact last week. (Read more about that vote at Politico.)

Still, U.S. officials are hopeful the ITC could vote to approve the proposals as soon as Feb. 24.

The same day the ITC announced it would resume negotiations, the European Commission said it would further suspend retaliatory duties on U.S. goods it first introduced last year. (Those retaliatory measures were implemented in response to the Trump administration’s imposition of penalties on steel and automobile imports into the United States.) That suspension would last until Aug. 6, 2026.