Historic EU–US agreement finally reached: Here are the first details

“An agreement is an agreement, and the EU respects its commitments. I welcome the agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council to reduce tariffs on U.S. industrial exports to the EU. This means that we will soon fulfill our part of the EU–U.S. Joint Statement, as promised,” said Ursula von der Leyen in a post on the platform X.

She called on other relevant parties to “act quickly and complete the process,” stating that together it is possible to ensure “stable, predictable, balanced, and mutually beneficial transatlantic trade.”

Negotiators from the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, and the European Commission reached a compromise after more than five hours of talks on legislation to implement the agreement reached last summer, according to Brussels-based Politico.

Under the agreement, the EU agreed to remove tariffs on U.S. industrial goods and some agricultural products, while Washington is expected to limit tariffs on most European exports to 15 percent.

The EU slowed consideration of the agreement after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened in January to annex Greenland, a Danish territory, and again in February after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a large portion of the tariffs he had introduced.

“The EU has once again shown that we are a fairly reliable trading partner that respects its commitments,” said EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič after leaving the negotiation room.

After months of internal disputes within the EU, the compromise was reached early this morning after Trump, frustrated by the EU’s delays, threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on European cars starting July 4.

According to the final draft of the compromise, seen by Politico, the European Commission could, at the request of the European Parliament or a member state, suspend the trade agreement if Washington fails to reduce tariffs on European steel and aluminum products by the end of 2026, which currently reach up to 50 percent.

Under the agreement reached early this morning, the Commission will report to Parliament and the Council at the end of this year on U.S. steel tariffs, and if it determines that the U.S. is not complying with the agreement, it would assess whether to suspend it.

Negotiators added a so-called sunset clause under which the agreement would expire in December 2029 — almost a year after Trump is expected to leave the White House.

The text also includes safeguard measures requiring the Commission to investigate, either on its own initiative or at the request of three EU countries, whether imports pose a serious threat to domestic industry.