Import tariffs on industrial goods from the United States imported into the European Union will be abolished, as set out in the trade deal concluded between the US and the EU last year.
Under the deal struck by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last summer in Turnberry (Scotland), the EU will introduce a zero tariff on imports of US industrial goods and several agricultural products.
In return, the US will impose a general import tariff of 15% on European goods.
Both the Member States and the European Parliament have now given the green light to the deal, although, at the Parliament’s instigation, a number of safeguards have been added to protect European interests.
The final step before the agreement came into force was the publication of the legal text in the Official Journal of the EU. This took place on Tuesday, with 1 July as the start date.
Therefore, the EU has met the unofficial deadline imposed by Trump. He felt that the European decision-making process was taking far too long and threatened to impose new tariffs if the agreement had not been approved by the American national holiday on 4 July.
'Constructive' contacts
The fact that the process is now fully complete "is good news for the EU (...) and for transatlantic relations", said a spokesperson for the European Commission on Tuesday.
"But what it ultimately comes down to is that we are once again demonstrating that the EU honours the commitments it makes in trade deals," the spokesperson added.
When asked whether the Commission now expects Trump to stop making threats, the spokesperson declined to comment.
He did, however, indicate that the EU and the US are maintaining "constructive" contacts at both a technical and political level, and that the EU will continue to work to ensure that all elements of the deal are fully implemented.
For example, the US has promised to reduce tariffs on steel and aluminium, but this has not yet happened.
As recently as last week, Trump threatened to impose 100% import duties on European countries that approve a tax on digital services. The Commission responded by stating that it would react "swiftly and decisively" should such tariffs be introduced.
