The US-EU tug-of-war in five points

On 2 April 2025, on so-called Liberation Day, US President Donald Trump announced a large package of trade tariffs against many states: the one against the European Union included tariffs of 30% on most products imported from the EU.

On 27 July 2025 Trump and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met at the golf course owned by the US president in Turnberry, Scotland. The result of those talks was an agreement in principle to lower US tariffs from 30 to 15 per cent on most products imported from Europe. In return, the 27 EU countries agreed to increase direct investment in the US and to increase purchases of certain categories of goods produced by overseas factories including industrial machinery, food, and fashion. For the European automotive sector, the Turnberry agreements also represented a significant victory as they raised tariffs from 27.5% to 15%. On European steel and aluminium destined for the US, however, it was decided to keep tariffs at 50%.

In the months following the Turnberry agreements, tensions between the EU and the US have increased, starting with President Trump's threats to annex the Danish territory of Greenland to the US. Thus in January the Euro Parliament decided to suspend approval of the trade agreement reached in July. Meanwhile, Trump's reciprocal tariffs were also rejected by the US Supreme Court itself.

Defended by the EU Commission as the best possible, but long criticised by many MEPs in Strasbourg, the agreement was finally approved by the European Parliament at the end of March, but only after the addition of a safeguard clause allowing it to be suspended if the Trump administration was found responsible for new threats or breaches of the pacts.

Following the Europarliament's approval of the agreement with the addition of the safeguard clauses on 26 March, the trilogue phase has begun, which also involves the EU Council and the Commission, with the latter two taking a softer stance towards Washington than the Strasbourg hemicycle. Among the most controversial knots are the differential treatment of steel and the MEPs' demand that the agreement should automatically expire on 31 March 2028.