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The European Parliament and the Cypriot presidency, representing EU member states, failed to reach a deal last night on eliminating EU tariffs on US industrial goods as agreed under the Turnberry agreement struck last summer.
The setback comes just days after the US intensified pressure on European negotiators by threatening to impose 25% tariffs on EU cars — exceeding the 15% ceiling on US tariffs for EU goods agreed last summer by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry.
Despite the failed round of talks, which stretched late into the night, the Cypriot presidency said discussions had generated “positive momentum” between both sides and that negotiators had made “progress”.
The clock is ticking
The clock is ticking and pressure has intensified in recent days from the European Commission, which is pushing for swift implementation of the EU-US deal, and from leaders of the conservative European People’s Party, the Parliament’s largest political group, who argue businesses need certainty.
Cypriot Trade Minister Michael Damianos sought to reassure them, saying that “the Council is committed to moving swiftly with the implementation” of the deal, adding: “We are fully committed to continue our constructive engagement with the European Parliament.”
One EU diplomat told Euronews that the objective of yesterday’s talks was mainly for both sides to lay out their political positions, with technical negotiations expected at a later stage. Negotiators are now targeting a new round of discussions on 19 May.
Parliament has included robust safeguards in the EU–US deal, although member states do not back all of them, despite broadly agreeing on the need to protect the agreement from future threats by Trump, such as those concerning EU cars or Greenland earlier this year.
Bernd Lange, a German socialist MEP said that “there is still some way to go,” but added that negotiators “made good progress on the issue of the safeguard mechanism and the review and evaluation of the main regulation.”
Parliament’s demands include making the deal temporary, with an expiry date in March 2028, just months before the end of Trump’s second term.
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