European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has welcomed a compromise within the European Union to implement last year's Turnberry trade agreement with Washington, narrowly avoiding another hike in tariffs.
Under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who had threatened to impose 25% tariffs on imports of EU cars and trucks if negotiations didn't move forward, the EU reached a provisional agreement at about 02:00 on Wednesday morning in Strasbourg after five hours of talks, Belga News Agency reports.
Negotiations between European lawmakers and Member States resumed late on Tuesday night in Strasbourg after a failed attempt in May. The Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU announced the agreement early on Wednesday morning.
The agreement involves the EU lifting tariffs on most US imports in exchange for capping US-imposed tariffs on European goods at 15%. Member States had initially resisted the European Parliament's demands for stricter safeguards, fearing a negative reaction from Washington.
It also empowers the Commission to suspend the agreement at the end of 2026 if EU steel and aluminium duties aren't lowered to 15% or if it judges more widely that the US breached the terms of the deal.
One sticking point centred on 'sunrise' and 'sunset' clauses, which would determine the timing and duration of the agreement's implementation. The 'sunrise' clause, tied to US compliance, was removed altogether, while the 'sunset' clause was extended to give the deal a renewed timeline, from 31 March 2028 to the end of December 2029.
Parliament's international trade committee and MEPs must now approve the provisional agreement during the June plenary session. EU ambassadors are expected to endorse the deal before ministers formally sign off on it.
A deal is a deal
The compromise signifies the bloc is close to meeting its commitment with the United States, Von der Leyen stated on social media platform X on Wednesday morning.
She called for the two parties to "move swiftly and finalise the process" to ensure a stable and mutually beneficial transatlantic trade relationship and move past a challenging chapter in transatlantic relations.
A deal is a deal, and the EU honours its commitments.
I welcome the agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council on reducing tariffs for US industrial exports to the EU. This means we will soon deliver on our part of the EU-US Joint Statement, as promised. I… — Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) May 20, 2026
