

Tostadas with salmon and crab and baked cheese pintxos or tapas with a glass of Spanish rose wine outside a cafe in the medieval town of Olite, Spain. Photo: iStock/SvetlanaSF
Under threat of punitively higher U.S. tariffs on its exports, the European Parliament on June 16 voted to approve a significant portion of the trade deal that it struck with President Donald Trump last year in Scotland.
The New York Times reports that Trump, frustrated with Europe’s slow progress toward agreeing to the deal, had threatened “much higher” tariffs on European products if it wasn’t finalized by July 4. On June 15, he suggested he would raise duties on European wine — a market worth nearly €5 billion ($5.8 billion) per year — to 100%.
Under the agreed provisions, the EU will cut tariffs to zero on American industrial goods, including machinery and car parts, and on lobster. It will also reduce duties on some U.S. agricultural products. In exchange, the U.S. will keep tariffs on many European goods at around 15%, although some goods will attract higher rates.
“With this milestone, we are days away from fulfilling our commitment to remove tariffs on imports of U.S. industrial goods,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, posted on social media after the vote.
European Union member states still need to finalize approval of the agreement before it is officially complete, but that is considered a done deal.
Parts of the deal can be suspended if the U.S. reneges on its promises, and other parts will sunset after 2029 if they are not renewed.
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