The European Union has struck a provisional agreement on legislation to remove import duties on US goods, a key part of the trade deal reached with Washington last July, in a move likely to avert higher US tariffs on EU products.
Under the terms of the deal struck at US President Donald Trump's Turnberry golf resort in Scotland last July, the EU agreed to remove import duties on US industrial goods and grant preferential access to US farm and sea produce.
In exchange, the United States would impose tariffs of 15% on most EU goods.
Nearly 10 months since that framework accord, the European Parliament and the European Council, the body representing EU governments, agreed on a legislative text, paving the way for the EU duty reductions to enter force with safeguards in case Mr Trump reneges on the agreement.
"I am proud to announce that Europe has avoided a damaging escalation of transatlantic trade tensions and protected European companies, investments and millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic," Zeljana Zovko, the lead trade negotiator in the European People's Party group on the US deal, said in an X post announcing the deal.
"The agreement is expected to provide a more stable framework for EU-US trade relations while leaving room for further discussions on unresolved issues, particularly in the steel and aluminium sector," the European People's Party said.
Mr Trump has said he would impose much higher tariffs on EU goods, including cars, if the European Union did not implement its trade deal commitments by 4 July, having earlier threatened to raise tariffs on EU car imports to 25% from the current 15%.
EU politicians had twice paused the required legislation after Mr Trump's threats to impose new tariffs on European allies who did not back his proposed acquisition of Greenland and after the US Supreme Court struck down his global tariffs.
The bloc should now meet Mr Trump's 4 July deadline, with a final vote of approval in the European Parliament expected in mid-June.
EU politicians had wanted tougher safeguards, including a "sunrise clause" under which the EU would only cut duties when the United States fulfilled its side of the deal, the possibility to suspend the deal if the US breached the terms and a "sunset clause" to end EU tariff concessions on 31 March 2028.
EU governments had less appetite for inserting such items, concerned they could antagonise the Trump administration and create uncertainty for EU businesses.
