The Eurochamber validates the trade agreement with the US in exchange for a suspension clause for Trump

BrusselsThe constant threats from Donald Trump against the European Union have caused the European Parliament to postpone the vote to validate the European bloc's trade agreement with the United States three times. Finally, however, after pressure from member states and the White House, the Eurochamber validated the pact this Thursday with 417 votes in favor, 154 against, and 71 abstentions.

Now, the European Parliament asks to add a suspension clause that can be applied in case, for example, the President of the United States launches threats against European partners. In this way, the European Commission can propose the elimination of part or all of the trade pact if the United States imposes new tariffs and exceeds 15% of the customs duties they have committed to applying at most.

This clause can also be activated in case the United States takes measures that harm the application of the trade agreement or discriminate against economic operators of the European Union, as well as initiatives that threaten the territorial integrity of the European bloc or its security. Thus, the European Parliament refers to Trump's latest threats to forcibly invade Greenland, which is sovereign territory of a member state, Denmark.

However, the position voted on this Thursday in the European Parliament on the trade agreement between the EU and the US is not definitive, and it will now have to be negotiated with the European Commission and the Council of the EU, which is the community body representing the member states. Therefore, it is possible that this clause will not be approved and will be discarded in negotiations, especially if Trump continues to pressure European governments.

It should be remembered that both the European Commission and the member states have been pressuring the European Parliament for months to validate the agreement and, consequently, for the European Union to process it as soon as possible. In fact, Trump has also pressured the European bloc on more than one occasion to ratify it once and for all.

Be that as it may, it has gone ahead thanks to the vote of a large part of the far-right –although Vox abstained–, the European People's Party (EPP), the liberals, and the Party of European Socialists (PES). The parliamentary groups of the Left and the Greens have voted against it, including Catalan MEPs Jaume Asens (Comuns) and Diana Riba (Esquerra).

The trade agreement

The trade agreement reached between the European Union and the United States last July limits the tariffs that the North American power can apply to products imported from the European bloc to 15%. Although some products, such as those from the steel sector, are exempt, it represents a substantial reduction compared to the previous increases applied by the White House, of up to 30%. On the other hand, the European bloc also commits to purchasing energy products from the United States for approximately 700 billion euros in the next three years alone.