EU parliament trade chief Bernd Lange says good progress has been made on EU-US trade deal legislation but more work remains, with the next trilogue set for May 19 in Strasbourg.
Summary:
- European Parliament trade committee chair Bernd Lange said negotiators have made good progress on legislation underpinning the EU-US trade agreement but acknowledged there is still some way to go, per a European Parliament statement on Wednesday
- A second round of talks between the Parliament and EU governments narrowed differences on key elements including a safeguard mechanism and provisions covering how the agreement will be reviewed and evaluated, according to the same statement
- The next trilogue session is scheduled for May 19 in Strasbourg, per the European Parliament
- Lange reaffirmed the Parliament's commitment to defending its mandate to secure additional guarantees benefiting citizens and companies in both the EU and the United States, according to the statement
- The update follows a separate push by EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic, who met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Paris earlier this week to press for a swift return to the Turnberry tariff terms, meaning a 15% all-inclusive rate with agreed EU carve-outs, per the European Commission
- The EU has described it as mutually beneficial for the deal's main features to be in place ahead of the agreement's one-year anniversary at the end of July, according to the Commission
Negotiations on the legislative framework underpinning the EU-US trade deal have advanced but remain unfinished, the European Parliament's chief trade negotiator said on Wednesday, with the next round of talks scheduled for May 19 in Strasbourg.
Bernd Lange, who chairs the Parliament's trade committee, said a second trilogue session with EU governments had brought the two sides closer on a number of contested provisions, including a safeguard mechanism and the terms under which the agreement will be subject to review and evaluation. Despite that progress, Lange was clear that more work lies ahead before the legislative underpinning of the deal can be considered settled.
The Strasbourg trilogue will take place against a backdrop of broader diplomatic pressure on the EU-US trade relationship. Earlier this week, EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic travelled to Paris to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, where the EU pressed for a swift restoration of the Turnberry tariff terms agreed last year, under which a 15% all-inclusive rate with agreed carve-outs would apply to European goods entering the United States. That push came after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the previous global tariff framework in February, leading Washington to replace it with a blanket 10% surcharge that has left some EU goods facing effective rates above the Turnberry ceiling.
The European Commission has described it as mutually beneficial for the deal's core features to be secured ahead of the agreement's one-year anniversary at the end of July, a deadline that lends urgency to the remaining parliamentary and diplomatic work. Lange underlined the Parliament's commitment to advancing its mandate in a way that delivers concrete guarantees for citizens and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.
Whether the May 19 session in Strasbourg can materially close the remaining gaps will determine how much pressure falls on subsequent rounds before the July window closes.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer,
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The confirmation of a May 19 trilogue in Strasbourg signals that the legislative architecture underpinning the EU-US trade deal remains unfinished, keeping tariff and market access uncertainty in play for European exporters for at least another fortnight. Progress on the safeguard mechanism and review provisions is meaningful for business planning, but the distance still to travel on the broader framework means the deal's main features are unlikely to be locked in well ahead of the July one-year anniversary that Brussels has flagged as a target. For energy traders, the continued uncertainty around Turnberry tariff restoration, and any knock-on effects on EU-US commodity flows, remains a background risk in an already elevated geopolitical environment.
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A trilogue is a three-way negotiation between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union (which represents member state governments), and the European Commission. It's the standard process by which EU legislation gets finalised, with all three institutions needing to reach agreement before a law or framework can be adopted. The talks are usually informal and closed-door, which often speeds things up compared to the formal legislative procedure. In this context, it refers to the three parties working through the specific rules and mechanisms that will give the EU-US trade deal its legal backbone.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.