European Parliament votes to support conditional implementation of US-EU trade agreement

On March 26, People’s Financial News reported that the European Parliament members voted on the 26th to support the conditional implementation of the EU-U.S. trade agreement. The vote that day does not mean the approval process is complete, as the European Parliament and EU member states still need to negotiate the final text. The EU and the U.S. reached a trade agreement in July 2025. Due to tensions between the two sides over the Greenland issue, the approval of the agreement experienced several months of delays. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration’s large-scale tariff policies were illegal, the process was once again postponed. Subsequently, Trump announced a new trade investigation against the EU and other trading partners, prompting European Parliament members to push for the inclusion of more safeguard clauses in the existing agreement. The European Parliament strengthened the proposed suspension clause, allowing it to suspend tariffs or trade benefits for the U.S. under various circumstances. If the U.S. imposes or threatens to impose new tariffs, or breaches the terms of the agreement, the agreement can be suspended wholly or partially. The European Parliament also introduced a “sunrise clause,” stipulating that new trade benefits will only take effect after the U.S. fulfills its commitments. Analysts note that while the EU is working to salvage the EU-U.S. trade agreement, it is also accelerating efforts to diversify trade relations worldwide. Recently, the EU facilitated the temporary implementation of a free trade agreement with Mercosur in May and signed a free trade agreement with India. (Xinhua News Agency)