EU Parliament halts work on U.S. trade deal over Greenland tariff threats
The European Parliament has suspended work on implementing a planned EU-U.S. customs agreement in protest over U.S. threats to impose new tariffs linked to the dispute over Greenland, the chair of its trade committee said on Wednesday.
Bernd Lange said the move followed comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has warned of additional tariffs on several EU countries, as well as Norway and Britain, over their opposition to his bid to acquire Greenland. Trump said this week he wanted to strike a deal for the Arctic island, despite opposition from Denmark and Greenland itself.
The halted agreement was set to allow duty-free imports of U.S. industrial goods into the EU and improve EU access for certain agricultural and seafood products, in return for tariff concessions previously granted by Washington. Lange said EU lawmakers would now consider further responses, including the possible use of the bloc’s Anti-Coercion Instrument, designed to counter economic pressure from third countries.
